Hawkins promises off-season changes
Moala punished
The Mainland Tactix will undergo a ‘‘changing of the guard’’ over the off-season with several players not expected to return next year.
On Sunday night, the Tactix bring the curtain down on another miserable trans-Tasman netball league campaign when they host the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic at Horncastle Arena.
The Tactix have lost all 12 games this season and look poised to become the first team in the competition’s eight-year history to experience a winless 0-13 season.
Tactix coach Sue Hawkins, who is contracted for next season, has already drawn up a wishlist of potential off-season targets.
The bulk of the Tactix squad was already signed before she was confirmed as coach this season. This time, she will have a large say over who she wants.
The Tactix have already applied to TTNL (trans-Tasman Netball League Ltd) for a second import for next season again.
Teams can start approaching players from rival teams, 24 hours after the grand final, which will be played on either June 21 or 22.
Hawkins was eager to retain the core of the squad to provide continuity for next season.
She promised there would be changes, however, as the Tactix attempt to snap a dire run of poor results.
Players like Louise Thayer and Keshia Grant could be surplus to requirements. Skipper Anna Thompson, who played her 100th game for the franchise this season, may also be nervous. She has played most of the season in the unfamiliar centre role, but with talented midcourter Nicola Mackle set to return from a season-ending knee injury, Thompson might be unwanted.
‘‘We’ll certainly be looking to make a difference next year and it’s a reflection of a changing of the guard in different areas and players will need to understand that,’’ Hawkins said.
Sunday’s game will definitely be the last for import defender Demelza Fellowes.
The former Australian international announced earlier this week she is retiring after 15 years in the elite ranks.
Hawkins is desperate to keep Fellowes, who will remain in Christchurch, involved next season in some capacity. She could be utilised as a defensive coaching specialist.
Hawkins was setting the bar high with recruitment and would be going after some top-tier players.
Whether they will consider joining a team, who have won just seven of 77 games since 2010, remains to be seen.
‘‘The board are totally behind me on that. We’ll be reaching out to those ones to start with. There’ll be a big push for sponsors for next year. We certainly have to think about [what players] would come in and make a difference. Who would come in and blend with what we’ve got and be a good role model,’’ Hawkins said.
Hawkins used the example of Australian side, the West Coast Fever, when asked whether the Tactix could realistically turn things around. The Perth-based Fever have historically been Australia’s worst performed side. They have qualified for the finals for the first time this season under new coach Stacey Rosman, winning nine of their 12 games.
Hawkins was under no illusion about the task confronting her when she took on the Tactix coaching job this season.
‘‘Everyone assumes you come in with your magic wand and sprinkle your magic dust, but it doesn’t actually happen that way.
‘‘It is a four-year plan and we have to keep that constant reminding.’’
Blues player George Moala will spend 40 hours doing community service after being found guilty of serious misconduct by New Zealand Rugby. Following his criminal trial NZ Rugby concluded that Moala’s conduct and the subsequent damage to his reputation, the Blues and rugby amounted to serious misconduct. Moala offered to spend 40 hours delivering community and education services to the rugby community to help others avoid his mistake.