West Coast Fever’s bid to start the season has taken another twist after the QLD Government declared New South Wales a COVID hotspot, forcing the WA team to bypass playing in NSW and fly directly into the Queensland hub in less than 24 hours.
Fever were scheduled to play their first two games of the season in Sydney, the first this Saturday against GWS Giants and the second on Sunday August 9 against NSW Swifts. This now means Fever’s first game will be in Queensland against the Adelaide Thunderbirds at Nissan Arena at 1pm AWST on Saturday 1st August, 2020.
Fever head coach Stacey Marinkovich said the last-minute change was not ideal but noted that all the club’s preparations will need to be changed.
“This isn’t ideal, but we as a club have to knuckle down and work together to make sure this late change does not impact the players ability to perform in round 1,” she said.
“We have a lot of depth in our squad, and yes the flight to Queensland may be a bit longer, but once we land, we have to hit the ground running and put this curve ball behind us.”
Fever Managing Director Simon Taylor said: “Our club, players, coaching staff and support staff are a resilient group of people; this change is not ideal but I have full confidence in our team that they will continue to work hard and make us proud.”
“We are disappointed for the NSW teams who are now unable to host games in their new stadium due to the COVID situation and wish them all the best for the season,” Mr Taylor said.
The QLD Government’s declaration of NSW as a COVID hotspot has increased the chances of WA hosting games throughout this season, due to the very low COVID numbers.
“We are doing everything we can to encourage the League to bring games to WA, we have the facilities to host training at the Gold Netball Centre and multiple games at RAC Arena,” Mr Taylor said.
