‘We can win this competition’: Incoming Queensland Firebirds coach confident team can return to Super Netball finals and go even further
She’s taken on one of the toughest jobs in the world’s best netball competition – but incoming Queensland Firebirds coach Kiri Wills sees only upside for the task ahead.
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Incoming Firebirds coach Kiri Wills believes the Queenslanders can be genuine contenders for next year’s Super Netball title despite last season’s turmoil.
Some would view the Firebirds job as a poisoned chalice rather than cup of opportunity given a tumultuous past few years at Nissan Arena which have included the axing of Megan Anderson and Bec Bulley, the coaches who have held the job since the reign of former championship mentor Roselee Jencke.
But experienced mentor Wills, who will become just the second Kiwi after Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua to lead a Super Netball outfit, sees more opportunity than burden in the position.
“I think I’m approaching it from the blank canvas point of view,” Wills said.
“There is pressure, though, absolutely there is pressure. People want this club to be back at the top. We represent a very proud state.
“But I also am really mindful to discuss with this current group that this is their opportunity to add their flavour to the legacy – we’re not trying to be anyone else.”
The Firebirds have recruited strongly for next season, adding towering Ugandan shooter Mary Cholhok and experienced England midcourter Imogen Allison to their ranks, decisions that were made before Wills arrived in Brisbane but have the new coach bullish about her side’s chances in 2025.
And Wills won’t be reinventing the wheel.
“There were some amazing moments this year,” Wills said.
“They pulled out some big wins against the premier, the Adelaide Thunderbirds (among others), so for me, looking at the group, we absolutely can compete and win this competition.
“We just have to do the work. Player for player, and just looking at the other teams, we will be fine.
“There’s a lot of work to be done in terms of rebuilding that belief but belief actually comes from the work that you do.
“I said to the girls, ‘I’m not going to come in here and change everything, because you’ve been playing a certain way and it is successful when it’s consistent’.”
Wills conceded there was a ‘wariness’ in approaching the Firebirds job given recent history.
“I did my homework in terms of looking into what I felt was happening,” she said.
“But I also think that Netball Queensland, as an organisation, gives me great comfort.
“My first day here was a review of the organisation’s values. Kate (Davies), the CEO, led it with facilitators, and that’s my language.
“If we can set the values up front early as a group and we stick to those, then we will be okay.
“And I think that’s my strength – my strength is around creating an environment where people feel they belong and they’re valued.
“And that’s not to say that previous coaches coming in haven’t done that. It’s just something I know I can do. So I have great confidence that I can set a platform for these players to be their best.”
It’s something that will be music to the ears of Firebirds fans, who are hungry for success after six years in the finals wilderness.
Like star shooter Grace Nweke, who will link with the NSW Swifts next season, Wells was keen to test herself in the best competition in the world.
“I’d been doing the Stars for seven years and so I was looking at what am I going to do next?” Wills said.
“And then this came up and I said to my husband, ‘What do you reckon. Why not? Let’s give it a go.
“So I’m really excited to be here, not just because it is the best competition in the world but also for my own development.
“Noeline’s blazed the trail, so to be the next (New Zealand) coach coming in after her – and I’m very different to her – and this is my journey but yeah, I feel quite privileged actually.”
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