Head Coach Kylee Byrne isn’t buying into the negative connotations of ‘change’ within her Sunshine Coast Lightning 2022 lineup – saying the introduction of new athletes has instead reinvigorated her side.
Lightning has a reputation of being seen as underdogs come season start and Byrne said she’s happy to wear that tag for now – but actions speak louder than words.
“It feels like it’s round one Deja Vue,” Byrne said.
“I like going under the radar but also the competition this year is so even – on any given day anyone is capable of beating anyone.
“What’s come out of it is that the wooden spoon tags are attributed to ‘change’ and I find that really strange that we automatically go the negative and say change is a bad thing – for us it has been nothing but positive.
“It has made us rethink, it has made us challenge our ideas and made us want to be better.
“The four changes have had such a positive impact on and off the court – predictions from the outside doesn’t influence the team.
“Hopefully after they see us play on the weekend and the performance we put out, that they have to eat their words.”
Lightning has welcomed Kadie-Anne Dehaney, Tara Hinchliffe, Annie Miller and Reilley Batcheldor into the fold in the offseason, all of which have impressed at different times.
Laura Scherian believes the new blood has brought with it new ideas and untapped potential that will keep rivals guessing throughout 2022.
“There’s so much potential in this group and it’s untapped as well,” Scherian said.
“We’ll find out as the season goes along but I think we will get stronger and stronger as we get closer to finals.
“I think we’ve got a lot of youth coming through that brings something different and new ideas – and that is always really exciting.”
Watch Sunshine Coast Lightning take on West Coast Fever in the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball Season opener via Kayo Freebies from 2:45pm AEST on Sunday 27 March.
