Every time I sit down to write this blog something monumental has shifted in the Fever camp. As was always going to be the case, when we decided to make the blog monthly this season and combined with a crazy condensed season, lots of situations will have changed between entries and new news becomes old quicker than the latest TikTok dance.
Coming off the back of the first Firebirds game in round six we took the time to indulge in some tough love at our review meeting. It was important to take the time to really understand where we were letting ourselves down in relation to individual accountability and in turn how that was affecting our product out on court and being demonstrated in significant inconsistencies to the Fever brand.
As is often the case, bad news rarely comes on its own and we were called into a Club meeting the following day to learn that the Suncorp Super Netball league had decided in the ninth hour that no games would be played in Perth during the 2020 SSN season.
The following day, when another mystery whole Club meeting was called, it seemed that the rule of three was in full effect and there was tension in the air as we sat and waited to find out what other spanner could possibly be being thrown at us next. As it turns out, we received the fantastic news directly from Coach Stacey about her appointment as the next Australian Diamonds Head Coach. An incredible individual achievement for Stace and a much-needed boost of mood and reason to celebrate in the Fever hub.
In juxtaposition, our form on court began to take a turn for the unstoppable with a much more convincing victory over Magpies on our second time out against them. Closely followed by a record-breaking result against the Sunshine Coast Lightning in round eight. It was the Clubs highest margin win in SSN and equalled the most goals scored in an SSN game. Now, we would usually pay very little attention to such things, however, to be able to take a moment to reflect on the 2019 season when we went down heavily to Sunny Coast 55-80, you couldn’t help but feel encouraged.
Given that we hadn't beaten the Firebirds since 2015, not at all in SSN history and just two rounds ago we suffered a disappointing loss against them which lit a spark within each of us, round nine was set to be an opportune moment for us to take another step forward in terms of demonstrating our finals capacity. The performance eventually took care of the result; however, the occasion was severely dampened as Inga went down hard in the third quarter having sustained an injury to her knee.
It has been a HUGE few weeks in the Fever camp and hub life continues to be a massive rollercoaster ride. I for one am trying to make the most out of the unique situation that we find ourselves in and take as many positives from each day as I can. We keep stepping towards the challenges that are continually thrown at us, with determination to continue to build whilst displaying our true character and bucket loads of grit at all times!!
Frank x
Twitter & Instagram: @StcyJyneFrancis
