Simpson sets winning goals
FIREBIRDS captain Gabi Simpson is on a mission to turn double- barrelled pain into some serious gain.
Simpson was part of the Australian side that lost the gold medal match to England at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
And she was also part of the 2017 Firebirds squad that played no role in the Suncorp Super Netball finals series where rivals Sunshine Coast Lightning eventually triumphed.
The athletic wing defence played in four- straight grand finals with the Firebirds in her first four seasons of elitelevel netball.
So heaven help anybody that gets in her way this season.
The Firebirds start their quest for redemption against archrival NSW Swifts at Homebush on Sunday when the Lightning will also take on GWS in a grand final rematch.
“To sit and watch the Sunshine Coast in our home stadium ( Boondall), playing a grand final and winning it, it hurt a lot,” Simpson said. “The gut was churning. “That has been a huge driver for our off- season and pre- season and it’s something that will stay in the back of our minds.
“We want to make sure we hit the ground running in this first game and we are the dominant club in Queensland this season.”
And the heartbreaking, last- second loss to England is still raw for the Diamonds vice- captain who joked she will exact revenge on Roses matchwinner and Swifts goal attack Helen Housby this weekend.
“You learn a lot from your failures and in particular, the hurt you feel in those tough times,” she said.
“For me personally, I never want to feel that again and I need to make sure I grow as a player and as a leader so I can make sure my teams are in the best position possible.
“It will definitely drive me over the next 12 months.”
Entering her second season as Firebirds skipper, Simpson said the seasonending knee injury to centre Mahalia Cassidy hurt the three- time trans- Tas- man champions last year as much as their style of play.
Simpson said she could also grow as a leader.
“We played a bit out of the fear of losing and that caused us to get a bit tight and play too much within ourselves,” she said.
“The last three games when the pressure came right off, we started to play beautiful netball so that’s been a big focus for us, to play that brand of netball from the start.
“I have to have that ability to instil that confidence and trust in these girls who are already phenomenal players in their own right. If we make mistakes, it’s what we do next that counts so having that mindset of calmness and control is important.”