Defeat to spur a major change
PAIN from the narrowest of defeats still burned for Barrie Emanuel, but the Highlanders coach sat a proud man.
On the court his young side showed the signs of a team who had found their feet in the Townsville Premier League, no longer daunted by the perennial powerhouses who have dominated past competition.
But it was away from the heart-stopping moments which took place on game day where he saw development that defied the tender years of his squad.
It was epitomised in a talented, determined, luckless star-to-be who has been forced to bide her time.
Grace Bowman suffered a devastating ACL injury in April last year, ultimately rubbing her out of 2021 to ensure that when she did return she would make an immediate impression.
Every game the goal attack was by Emanuel’s side – cheering, observing and learning even as her teammates suffered a dramatic 40-39 semifinal defeat
Runaways.
When training took place, the 2019 Premier League player of the year was there, doing rehab on the sidelines with a vision: to ensure when her comeback eventuated she had the tools to launch Highlanders into an era of dominance.
And Emanuel said while the teenager could not take the court, her presence was crucial to their finals tilt.
“You could just see the kid had a good work ethic; her investment in the team irrespective of being out injured was as strong as anyone,” he said.
“When you’ve got people around our team environment that have those strong personal attributes it lifts everyone. It was actually a pleasure to sit next to her this season, to have her still included in our club.
“The thing about small sacrifices, if you’ve got a high level of maturity, you get the rewards for those sacrifices.”
As gut wrenching as the defeat was, Emanuel saw several of his emerging stars come of age. at the hands of
At just 17, Estel Mocelutu thrived and ascended to make her Northern Rays debut, while Corinne Hiller captained the side with aplomb even though she too is still a teenager.
After a 2020 campaign which Emanuel admitted was far from successful, he saw incredible growth in his charges – a necessary evolution to return to the finals fore.
And he credits a recruit in the coaches box alongside him for much of that success and the future direction the club now has.
Brooke Lousi has achieved plenty in netball, from being the inaugural Rays vice-captain to representing Samoa at the 2019 World Cup..
However, after giving birth to her first child late last year, she opted to largely remain off the court and assist Emanuel with developing the Highlanders brigade.
With Lousi in his corner the youthful Highlanders group’s skill development escalated to steel them in the years to come should a core nucleus remain.
But like all elite athletes, she got itchy feet.
“Those sort of athletes don’t do half measures, it’s ingrained in their make up,” Emanuel said.
“She couldn’t help herself a few weeks ago, she actually trained with the girls, got a dress and played a few quarters. These girls don’t go quietly into the night when they love a sport and are as good as they are.
“With the level of composure she brought to our team, you get them back full time and the team gets better and the excitement of the other players having them come back into the mix lifts our players.
“She’s one of the most gifted and smartest netballers I’ve been involved with. I’ve been lucky enough to coach a lot of good young women, but not many people at a regional level get to have an international player in their team.”
With Runaways emerging victorious in the final 20 seconds, their attention will now turn to Saints, who also went down by a goal to Burdekin.
While Emanuel said there was still an ache throughout his side for how their season ended, the 2021 competition had him on tenterhooks for what was to come.
He said now it was crucial for the region to harness that talent and mould it into the premier women’s tournament in North Queensland.
“It’s the pinnacle of local women’s sport in Townsville; when you’ve got the top four teams hitting it out, and on any given night any team can win, that’s only good for women’s sport and netball,” Emanuel said.
“There’s a lot of words being said, the burn the players feel about losing a semi and whether that burn will be enough for them to do the extras in the off-season and come back and play stronger only time will tell.”