Hawks Netball managed to swoop in and snatch one of the best in the business ahead of the upcoming Victorian Netball League season, securing the services of former Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever goaler Kaylia Stanton.
Stanton is a huge off-season recruit for the club and is hoping that her experience and knowledge will be an asset throughout the 2022 season.
“Probably just my experience and getting back to playing more of that goal shooter role for me. We’ve had a few new people come into the team, so we are still discovering what that looks like exactly,” she said.
“Really fast paced, really strong and athletic group and we’ve got a lot of height down both ends of the court as well which is really nice.”
It has been somewhat of a long pre-season given the abrupt end to the 2021 competition, but the Hawks and Stanton are not fazed. Instead, they are looking at the positives and relishing the opportunity to be together as a squad considering all the interruptions.
“Pre-season is going really well, it’s really nice to be back as a team together especially after COVID affected us the past two seasons, so to be back out there training and playing again is an awesome feeling.”
The possibility of having a full season is further incentive for the Hawks, who are eager to consolidate their squad and implement their game plan – but more importantly, they’re hoping to regain some form of normality in their sporting lives.
“It means a lot. I was speaking to the girls about it the other day and for them, having such a disjointed season last year, to actually get a full season it’s something they can’t remember.
“It’s really exciting for them to feel like we are finally on the road to recovery in terms of COVID and coming back to playing sport, in both the community and the elite level as well.
“I think it’s really important for us to be able to do so as well because it’s really good for the development of netball in Victoria and the pathways as well. I think if we can get that full season out it will put us in good stead.”
The Hawks’ main aim for the 2022 season is to build on the foundations they established last year and work on their communication out on court.
“For us it’s probably about our communication and our connections out on court, being a new group we’ve got a couple of new players out on court so just making sure we really gel together and doing that really quickly as well.”
It is always challenging trying to forge new connections, but Stanton highlighted the importance of creating solid partnerships both on and off the court as a key focus for the club.
“I think it’s about trust. We’ve got a good bond away from the court as well as on the court. We get along really well. It’s a really good group of girls that are just wanting to do the best they can.
“We’ve got really good centre court players, we’ve got some strong shooters and defenders as well so it’s all about bringing them together and developing that as we go throughout the season.”
From a personal perspective, Stanton is most excited about getting back to her roots and igniting that spark in goal shooter – a position she is more comfortable in.
“Personally, I played goal attack for a number of years and I just wanted to go back to my roots of playing shooter, so just cementing my role in goal shooter and feeling comfortable out there.”
Stanton is eyeing off Round 1 with the Hawks set to take on Geelong Cougars, and while winning is nice, the main takeaway will be getting back on court and playing netball again at a competitive level.
“It’s come around quite quickly. It’s incredibly exciting and the anticipation is building amongst the girls. I think we are just really excited about getting out on court again and playing together for the first time properly and just seeing where we can go – we just want to get out there and play our best netball and have a good time in the process.”
