The Sunshine State has lived up to its billing so far as the NSW Swifts get used to calling Queensland home for the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season.
If you have to go into a hub environment, then the Sunny Coast is a pretty nice place to do it. Fantastic beaches, great weather, breath-taking scenery and a wonderfully friendly locals – it really is a little slice of heaven.
The Swifts have made their home in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, travelling in and out to Brisbane and Sippy Downs for games.
On the face of it, the situation is pretty picture perfect: the Premiers getting to stay in one of the most beautiful parts of Australia as they look to win back-to-back Premierships and a seventh title since the club was founded in 1997.
The locals also love their netball. The Sunshine Coast Lightning are the big show in town. There aren’t 50 pages of rugby league in the paper before netball gets a mention.
Cameron who? Ignore the footy players, on the Sunny Coast it’s Laura Langman and Steph Wood (both former Swifts) who are the big news.
Obviously, the two-time champion Lightning are most people’s team, but the Swifts have been fast to make friends up north and don’t be surprised if you see the odd Lightning fan smile when Helen Housby sinks a Super Shot (unless it’s against Sunny Coast, of course).
But hub life isn’t all sunny beaches and good coffee. The setting may be beautiful but the work and effort required for the Swifts to remain successful hasn’t changed. This is high performance sport and as the saying goes; fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
“This such a wonderous backdrop to stay in but we are not tourists,” head coach Briony Akle says. “The view from the office may be spectacular but we’ve got a job to do.
“We are playing three games a week against the best netballers in the world in the fastest and most physical netball competition in existence. It’s pretty crazy when you think about it, but that’s what 2020 has been for everyone.
“A lot of people see the front-facing side, when the team have a rare day off and rightly make the most of this amazing region - but they don’t often see the extra training, team meetings, recovery and separation from loved ones that can balance your mood out.
“Our players and staff have made a temporary home for themselves here but they aren’t forgetting the real reason we are in Queensland.
“At the end of the day this group of players should have more Premierships in them, be it this year or next year and they won’t lose sight of that.
“But I also think when they do get some down time it’s vital to have an environment that can allow them to relax and this part of Queensland provides that.
“There are times when it gets lonely and no amount of sun can make up for missing our loved ones at home. However, I think all of our playing roster and staff up here have amazing support from our families, partners and Swifts fans back home.”
The Lightning have a superb record on home soil, but the Round 7 clash will be a Swifts-hosted game behind closed doors at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena. Akle hopes that can play into NSW’s hands.
“Look, Sunny Coast are world class athletes and they can play anywhere,” she added.
“They won their second Premiership away in Perth and came back from well down to beat us in Sydney last year so to them it will just be a court.
“But they have a brilliant home support when they play at Sippy Downs, which – like the Swifts fans do for us – can be a real motivation for them.
“I think these closed mid-week games will be a new challenge for the teams and I’m hoping we adapt better.
“Both sides are tracking well so far, but there is such a long way to go in the regular season and we’ve been pushed in every game so no drop in intensity can be afforded.”
Home might be where the heart is, but it’s nice to have glorious sunsets to revive the soul until the Swifts are ready to return south.
The Round 7 clash with the Lightning will be broadcast live on Telstra TV and the Telstra Netball Live App on Wednesday at 5pm.
