As the Sunshine Coast Lightning spine champions ‘the Lightning Way’ in 2022, Head Coach Kylee Byrne is excited to see how new athletes can compliment and diversify this team’s competitive advantage.
Four new players have joined Lightning ahead of the 2022 season, with Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Tara Hinchliffe, Reilley Batcheldor and Annie Miller all adopting the yellow and navy.
Not one to remain complacent, Byrne said the new inclusions will challenge and motivate the group to be better.
“The 2022 Lightning team is a great balance of youth and experience,” Byrne said.
“With the spine of the team having the knowledge and the intel of ‘the Lightning Way” it will be fascinating to see what this new group will deliver come round one.
“We have had previous success built on the experience and unity of our core group and it was time to challenge that status quo.”
Four foundation Lightning players remain, while Mahalia Cassidy and Kate Shimmin return for a second season.
Byrne said their inclusion to the side in 2021 is evidence that the right mix of fresh faces can only help the team evolve and grow.
“We saw last year what an injection of new energy, talent and personnel can do and with more change this year we welcome a new freshness and a chance to innovate to keep pushing for continued success,” she said.
Given Lightning is yet to miss a finals campaign in their five year history, Byrne sent an ominous warning to opposition sides when speaking to the potential of her 2022 lineup.
“This Lightning team has the potential to push all boundaries in our game and be the start of a new era of success for our club,” she said.
“We have the right mix of positional balance, experience, enthusiasm and, of course, skill and smarts to feature in finals, if it all comes together at the right times we could be looking at a very special 2022.”
All eight teams must announce their squad of 10 players by Friday 8 October 2021, ahead of the 2022 pre-season.
