What Queensland Firebirds must do to drag themselves up the Super Netball ladder

In patches, the Queensland Firebirds have shown the ability to compete with any team. And yet, they sit second last on the Super Netball ladder. Here’s what must change to save their season.

Lara Dunkley remains a proud Victorian but there are few things that would please the adopted Queenslander more than returning the Firebirds to their former glory.

Dunkley is deep within her sixth season in the purple dress and while the revamped Firebirds started the season with a bang, winning their first two matches, they lost the next six in a row to sit two wins outside the top four at the halfway point of the season.

But Dunkley, who made her debut for the Melbourne Vixens in 2019 before moving north in 2020, is adamant there’s still time to turn things around this year.

“We need to keep each other accountable even more now,” Dunkley said.

“We work our butts off during the week, like we’re not a team that just thinks it’s all going to happen, we work super hard.”

Firebirds head coach Kiri Wills and star player Lara Dunkley. Picture: Getty

Consistency though – or a lack of it – is what’s killing the Firebirds at the moment and preventing them from being reliable threats each week.

In patches, Kiri Wills’ side has shown it has the ability to compete with any team but Dunkley conceded that was almost more frustrating than being completely out of touch.

“We want the win so bad. We know that we can take it to teams and it’s just that consistency.

“We need to knuckle down at training – and the punishments are going to come because we need it – and we need to learn that we’re not playing local netball, we’re playing Super Netball.

“Steps and missed shots under the posts, letting people knock it out of our hands, are just not good enough. We have to really step up to deserve a win.”

Lara Dunkley has challenged her teammates to step up to save their season. Picture: Getty

Dunkley comes from a line of winners.

Her father Andrew is a former Australian rules footballer who represented the Sydney Swans, playing a grand final in 1996, while brothers Josh – a premiership winner with the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions – and Kyle, who made his AFL debut with Melbourne in 2019, are also elite sportsmen.

Dunkley made the move north well before her brother joined the Lions and understands the Firebirds’ importance in the River City.

Speaking at South Bank, with the Bluey CityCat cruising the river behind her – a route that used to be traversed by a catamaran decked out in Firebirds livery – Dunkley is well aware of the place the three-time national league winners used to hold in the consciousness.

And she wants to be a part of the team that pushes them back there again for the first time since their 2016 premiership in the final season of the trans-Tasman competition.

“This club has an incredible legacy that’s come before them,” she said.

“It’s not just about the current playing group, it’s those that have come before us.

Laura Geitz (C) led the Firebirds to great success over the years. Picture: Getty

“We spend so much time with those girls, like Geitzy (Laura Geitz), Kiera (Trompf), Loz (Lauren Brown), all of those that played before us.

“And to see how much it means to them really gets you to the heart because you want to bleed purple.”

Dunkley said the current players, including new imports Mary Cholhok and Imogen Allison and coach Kiri Wills, wanted to make fans and supporters proud after a long finals drought.

“It’s been a long time coming, and there’s been many ups and downs, but I think all that stuff doesn’t just happen for nothing,” she said.

“I love this city, I love this club. And I think it’s time to really make a mark on this competition.

“I feel like we have the tools and people to do it.

“It would mean the absolute world to have an opportunity to play finals and then keep going from there and reach the top.”

Originally published as What Queensland Firebirds must do to drag themselves up the Super Netball ladder