By Jamie Marcuson
As the NSW Swifts rebuild after a mass exodus of players, Paige Hadley is choosing to focus on the challenge of breeding a new generation of Swifts legends.
Hadley, who made an extra-time cameo in the grand final loss to the Firebirds, joins Abbey McCulloch and Maddy Turner as the only Swifts who played in that epic decider to remain with the club for the new national netball league.
And while Hadley is disappointed at the loss of experience, she is relishing the opportunity to take on a leadership role in the new-look side.
"Obviously I'm disappointed [by the loss of players]," she said after the squad was announced. "The club definitely did not plan to have a lot of exits like its had, but I think the new league has caused a lot of existing clubs a big cleanout.
New-look team: Paige Hadley was surprised by the mass exodus from the NSW Swifts.Credit: Christopher Pearce
"But it's definitely a new-look Swifts and I am completely and utterly excited to be apart of that."
The Swifts went down to the Queensland Firebirds in extra-time in July and are now picking up the pieces after six of their stars left the club for 2017. Hadley admits she has been surprised by the extent of the exodus.
"The team this year was phenomenal and to go into that grand final and lose in extra-time, we thought we could keep it together," she said. "I was definitely surprised we had a mass exit, but it paves the way for a new era of Swifts and I think it's the perfect time with the new league coming in."
Diamonds stars Sharni Layton and Caitlin Thwaites have joined the new Collingwood side, while Kim Green and Susan Pettitt have rejoined former Swifts coach Julie Fitzgerald at the new Greater Western Sydney Giants.
Hadley admits she was also targeted by other clubs, but was unfaltering in her desire to stay with the Swifts.
"I had other offers on the table," she said. "But my heart is in the red still, and I'm not ready to close the chapter on the red."
The upside of the loss of the Swifts stalwarts is that few of the team will have the baggage of two years of consecutive heartbreak against the Firebirds. Hadley believes the fresh faces will ensure there are no scars from the final years of the ANZ Championship.
"Two years in a row we've come and fell agonisingly close to a grand final win," she said. "The girls coming in haven't actually experienced that in the last two years and I think the new competition is a whole fresh start.
"Not having those scars there, we can actually start afresh and really have this clean canvas where we can create a culture that we're really proud of and build on the legacy of the girls before us."
Although the draw is yet to be completed, Hadley is already readying for two blockbuster clashes against the star-studded Collingwood and cross-town rivals the Giants. The Giants clash, in particular, represents a new frontier with a Sydney derby.
"The Giants and the Swans have created that rivalry in the AFL and I think it's definitely going to be there in the netball," she said. "We've obviously lost two big recruits to the Giants [Green and Pettitt], who have followed their starting coach Julie Fitzgerald – you can't stop what the heart wants – so that game's going to be really big."
While that derby will be a season highlight, Collingwood are the team to beat, says Hadley, but they are by no means unstoppable.
"Collingwood have a really strong starting seven in that most of them are Diamonds," Hadley said. "You look at their team on paper and say, 'wow, six Diamonds there', but they are definitely beatable. Everyone's really raring to have a crack at them."
Hadley is under no illusions that the task ahead will be incredibly tough. Blooding a new side with limited international experience in a new competition with a host of new teams will have enormous challenges, she says.
"It's different; it's a new-look Swifts and people are going to be shocked by it," Hadley said. "It's unpredictable and that's when you play your best netball."
Swifts squad: Paige Hadley, Helen Housby, Sarah Klau, Abbey McCulloch, Claire O'Brien, Maddy Proud, Amy Sommerville, Emma Tickner, Maddy Turner, Sammy Wallace. Head coach: Rob Wright