2023 Season Preview: Steel
Not many have experienced the unusually high attrition rate ahead of a new season as much as the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel have, but as is their way, adversity could well prove their galvanising factor.
Since naming her original team, Steel coach Reinga Bloxham has lost three players, one from each third of the court, with midcourter Shannon Saunders and defender Sarahpheinna Woulf being early deflections through pregnancy while the loss of international shooter George Fisher to a season-ending injury just weeks out from the start of the tournament was a real hammer blow.
The timings meant Bloxham was able to have two of her replacements, midcourter Ivari Christie and defender Courtney Elliott, on deck from the start of the pre-season but shooter Eseta Autagavaia’s inclusion came in late in the piece.
“The biggest learning I’ve had over the last couple of years, especially with Covid, is that you just have to have your finger on the pulse on who’s coming through and at what stage they’re at,” Bloxham said.
“So, when those things popped up, I had a really good idea of who was available locally and within other franchises. In a sense, it gave me a little bit of calm because I knew what was available for me and from our pre-season games, we’ve created some great depth and showed that our bench players can add really good value when they’re injected into the game.
“I now feel like we’re in quite a good position even though we’ve managed to lose three people before the competition starts but have enough depth around us to help us be able to play the Steel way of netball.”
With the teenaged Christie, a training partner last year, and Elliott having played for the team in 2018 and 2019, including winning a championship with them, Bloxham is well versed in the pair’s credentials. Autagavaia, who was set to be a training partner with the Robinhood Stars, joined her new team in time for the pre-season tournament in Ōtaki, showing her strength on the shot and athletic ability.
The Steel have retained a well-performed core of six players from last season while also adding experienced midcourter Sam Winders to their mix.
“Sam is very experienced in the ANZ and has been a stalwart at the Magic for years, so moving down here has been a huge shift for her.
“It has brought that element of freshness about her. She’s really enjoying her life outside of netball down here and she’s enjoying her netball life as well, so although it’s the same game, being in a different environment has just given her that love and spark for netball again.
“She’s also playing in a different position (wing attack) than she’s normally used to and with that comes that element of learning, growing and being challenged.”
While Fisher is a big loss at the shooting end, Bloxham was delighted with how fellow shooter Georgia Heffernan bounced back from major injury last season and expects her to kick on in 2023.
“She took great lessons from last year and when she made the FAST5 Ferns team and got invited to the Silver Ferns trials, I think it’s just given her another wee sniff of what she could potentially do if she keeps working really hard and playing some really consistent netball.
“Without George there, she’s had to step up and build some resilience, and she’s just got on with it.”