Excitement continues to build around the Queensland Sapphires who will hit the court for the first time at this year’s Australian Netball Championships at Traralgon, Victoria in September.
The Sapphires will fly the flag for Queensland after being re-branded from the state’s former side the Queensland Fusion.
The new-look championships will feature a record 10 teams including GIANTS Netball Academy, QBE Swifts Academy, Victorian Fury, Collingwood Magpies, Sunshine Coast Lightning, Western Sting, Southern Force, Tasmania and the Capital Darters.
Netball Queensland High Performance Director, Demelza Fellowes, said the decision to re-brand this team allows for alignment to the premier competition housing the state’s rising stars.
“We are absolutely thrilled with the rising quality of our HART Sapphire Series competition and club environments and feel it’s a natural progression to name our ANC team as the representation of such,” she said.
The first exciting announcement from within the Sapphires’ camp is the appointment of Queensland Firebirds Specialist Coach Katie Walker as head coach for the campaign.
'I'm looking forward to see how the squad comes together under Katie's energy and vision and what they will achieve together moving forward,” Fellowes said.
Walker, a former Queensland Firebirds player, said she was not at all daunted by the task of leading a newly branded team at the championships.
“To be honest, external pressure and expectations are not something we will be focusing on, so I haven’t given that much thought,” she said.
“I am both extremely honoured and excited to be given the opportunity to coach the Queensland Sapphires.
“That excitement is not just because it is a new team this year but also because of the immense talent amongst it.
“What I do know is that we as a group, will set standards and expectations of ourselves that will drive us to be the best team we can be and will ensure the Queensland Sapphires are a team that our supporters can be very proud of.”
The Queensland Sapphires will unveil their 12-person squad in the coming days with Fellowes citing commitment to development as a core focus of the side.
“Regardless of the threat the COVID landscape places on tournaments proceeding, we are determined to provide the best possible high performance environment for our players to continue to be challenged and develop along their netball journey.”
