Former Fijian Pearls coach, Megan Simpson has joined forces with Peninsula Waves for the 2022 Victorian Netball League season and has already kickstarted their campaign in style, collecting a Round 1 win in the Championship division.
“The group is a really happy and committed bunch of girls. They've certainly impressed in Round 1 but we're under no illusion, the season is a very long one and every team is going to be a really competitive tussle for us,” Simpson said.
“But it's really lovely to see the girls come together after a really solid pre-season, and actually develop the confidence and the trust in one another and get out there and play the game that they love.”
No stranger to the big stage, having taken the Pearls to the Commonwealth Games in 2006, Simpson intends to bring that knowledge and experience to the VNL to help her side rocket up the ladder after a relatively disappointing 2021 season.
“I coached the Fiji national team back in 2005 or 2006 and took them to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. So of course, playing on the international stage at arguably netball’s pinnacle event, secondary only to the World Championships, that environment is obviously a massive step up in terms of accountability and pressure and the need to be able to effect change really quickly.”
VNL does not differ too much according to Simpson who drew comparisons between coaching the Pearls and the Waves.
“The learnings that you take from that certainly apply to VNL level. I don't see it any differently and for me, having coached Fiji, I would describe the level as probably equivalent to what we'd get at VNL,” she said.
“In the sense that you've got limited resources over there, you don't have the luxury of a huge support staff and depth of experience in players. You really have to work with what you've got and so for me, taking that experience and putting it into VNL is a little similar in some ways.”
A born and bred Victorian, prior to her appointment as head coach at the Waves Simpson had no experience in her home state, instead drawing upon her international experience to give her side a competitive edge heading into the 2022 season.
“For me coming into VNL it's a bit sight unseen. I don't have the history of coaching at this level in this state. However, having done it elsewhere, I think there's obviously a lot of similarities and a lot of experiences that you bring with you.
“It's probably been a benefit in some ways because you come into this new environment without any sort of preconceived ideas. You have a different perspective, and a different lens on things which I think has been helpful for our club, particularly because it certainly needed just a different set of eyes to assess performances and see where we could be making improvement,” she explained.
Simpson also highlighted the importance of the coaching team around her in providing the support and insight she needs, helping to formulate a strategy to combat opposition teams throughout the course of the season.
“I do rely on the girls a lot to share knowledge and experiences and history with me around the opposition, so that we can start to strategise around how we play against them. So, for me, it's a very united approach, not about one coach having all the answers and running a regime – it's very collaborative, because I rely on their intel as much as they rely on mine.”
When asked about the brand of netball the Waves want to be known for this season, the answer was quite simple: relentless netball. Simpson’s main aim is to ensure that her side can play a strong, consistent four quarters and stick to their structures to get the job done.
“It's about doing the basics really well. Being able to be relentless in both attack and defence,” she said.
“We’ve got some great young talent in the team and it's working with them, developing their individual game for the benefit of the team and identifying what that is for each of those individual athletes and how do I help them do that? Because long-term that becomes another benefit for the team.”
With new faces across the board, Simpson has been tasked with building a new foundation and new brand of netball to help Peninsula make the jump up the ladder.
“There's a number of players that have remained from last season, and then we've had a number of new faces and a couple of kids that have been with Waves that haven't played Championship before. So that Championship team has a real diversity of youth, exciting athleticism and potential and experience, we're just trying to work around how we complement one another by using everyone’s strengths.”
With Round 2 ahead of them tonight against Wilson Storage Southern Saints, the Waves are focused on delivering a slick brand of netball to avoid playing into the strengths of the defensive-minded Saints.
“For us, it will be around positioning the ball and making sure that we don't give opportunity to the defence line,” Simpson said.
