Southern Blast coach Jo Morrison hopes her charges can channel their excitement for the National Netball League (NNL) and put it to good use after such a lengthy wait to showcase their skills.
The Blast hosts the first game of the new league at ILT Stadium Southland in Invercargill on Sunday where they will meet the Northern Comets.
The national league, which sits directly below the ANZ Premiership and is a key competition aimed at strengthening Netball New Zealand’s performance pathway, is back after a COVID-disrupted season last year which, after two false starts, saw the competition canned in 2020.
Now six teams, aligned with the six Premiership franchises, are ready to compete in the NNL which will run over 13 weeks, include seven matches broadcast live on Sky Sport 3 and culminate in a Grand Final on 4 July.
Morrison said her side had addressed the “emotional baggage” which came from such a tough year last year, but they were now looking forward to putting their hard work into action on court.
“There’s so much excitement to get back out there after the disappointments of last year,” she said. “We’ve now just got to capture that energy and use it the right way.”
The former Silver Fern will juggle two roles this season as she swaps her head coach job with the Blast for a seat next to Reinga Bloxham as assistant coach with their ANZ Premiership sibling, the Southern Steel.
Morrison said it there were a lot of learnings for her being involved with both teams.
“The Blast has been heavily involved with the Steel during pre-season and it’s a really good taste for these players to see and learn the processes of what we do at franchise level,” she said.
She can also turn to former Steel shooters Jen O’Connell and Georgia Heffernan for that next level of experience with the duo returning to the game after serious knee injuries sustained during last year’s ANZ Premiership.
Morrison said the NNL was an ideal environment for the two to work their way back into the game.
“To be able to support their return to play through a league like this is massive,” she said. “It can be daunting for players who are returning after a significant injury, but this is a good environment to come into.
“They’re both tracking nicely and they bring a lot of experience to the group which is really valuable.”
She hopes to get a good measure of where her Blast side sits after their first round match against the Comets.
“It’ll be great to get out on court and see where we’re at, look at combinations and building from there.”
The NNL Grand Final will be played on Sunday 4 July at The Trusts Arena in Auckland.