By Linda Pearce
Magpies Netball coach Kristy-Keppich Birrell says "surprise" would not be the word she would use to describe her new team's 1-2 standing after three rounds, because it was always accepted within the Holden Centre's incredibly well-resourced walls (our words) that a team built from scratch and with a minimal collective pre-season preparation would need some getting-to-know-you time, however elite its separate components.
In which case, if not surprise, what word would she prefer?
Caitlin Thwaites needs some scoring support if the Magpies are to thrive this season.Credit: Getty Images
"I think there's an acknowledgment of the fact that it's not what we expected," Keppich-Birrell says after a long and thoughtful deliberation. "So we've performed below our expectation."
And, it must be said, pretty much everyone else's, given the fanfare over a group containing five current Diamonds, whose June task was supposed to involve polishing the inaugural Super Netball premiership trophy. They still could. Once things settle, possibly will. But there are issues, including the lack of scoring support for the marvellous Caitlin Thwaites, and the league's most extravagant team penalty count heading into Sunday's fourth round appointment with the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
"It does hurt us out there when we build pressure and then we release it with a contact or an obstruction. We need to change that," Keppich-Birrell says. "We need to work out what we can and can't do at each end of the court in each game, and we need to be better at adapting to that very quickly at the start of the game."
Otherwise, the error count – "whether they're passing errors or turnovers of any kind" – is the major concern for a coach preparing for her first encounter with the team she took over in a caretaker role after the mid-2016 sacking of Michelle den Dekker that entrenched her on the Pies' interest list. Offensive contacts, too, she describes as "just not good enough at this level".
"Every single one of those can be converted by an opposition team onto the scoreboard, so we might be putting defensive pressure on, but the scoreboard pressure is what counts in the end, so we know that we can't keep giving the ball back the way that we are."
While Diamonds centre Kim Ravaillion has been benched on either side of her MVP performance against her old club – the Firebirds, for a 54-50 success in Brisbane in round two – it is goal attack that remains the most problematic position. Alice Teague-Neeld, like her team, has sandwiched one good performance between two not-so-goods. Hence the load on Thwaites, and the need to support her 21-year-old sidekick.
"The team's just getting around Alice as much as they can to connect with her and let her know they've got her back," says Keppich-Birrell. "She does need to lift her performance, she knows that, and she's been doing some extra things to make that happen. And looking for consistency in performance is ultimately what we're after."
Teague-Neeld is not the only one to have done the extra yards/sessions since the loss to the Giants, with the open offer to book in for an individual Tuesday session with the coaching staff and video screen having been more fully-subscribed this week than before.
"That to me as a coach is really pleasing to see them being able to identity – absolutely nail down – what part of their game they need to change and fix. That's accountability for performance," Keppich-Birrell says. "Across the pre-season we've had different players accessing it at different times; this time we've had more players accessing it than any time before.
"They've been very much looking at themselves and how they are connecting as a group, and knowing that the hard work has to go in on and off the court, and they've certainly done some extra individual sessions... They've got a lot of pride and they were certainly very disappointed with the result on Saturday, and know that that's not where they want to be at. They've really looked within this week, within themselves and within their group, and will come out fighting."
Perspective and patience are other essentials, for these are still early days in a 14-round season. "There's a tendency to panic, but we need to remember we're three games in, we knew it was going to take time, we knew that we had a tough run at the start of the season in regards of who we thought were going to be difficult opposition. It's a tough competition and all those draws and things that have happened along the way are going to be critical towards the end of the season."