Hoggies president Bridget Andrews: We’re after a new coach but we can still compete v Tigers
THEY might have played finals last year, but Hoggies are now seeking a mentor for the current 2021 Darwin Netball Premier League season.
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THEY might have played finals last year, but Hoggies are now seeking a mentor for the current 2021 Darwin Netball Premier League season.
That doesn’t mean – with the experienced Tara Everett acting as player-coach – the team is not expecting to be competitive against Nightcliff in Round 2 action on Thursday night.
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Hoggies president Bridget Andrews said there were plenty of reasons for a potential new coach to get excited about.
“We’re looking for a new coach and we can offer them a financial incentive as well,” she told the NT News.
“At the moment, Tara is doing it while playing, and she’s bringing a lot of knowledge to the role.
“(Past coach) Shannon Millar brought a lot of knowledge and experience, and she worked really well with our juniors, too.
“But she’s taken on a paid football coaching role (with the NT Academy) so you can’t fault her for that.
“It’s why we’re looking at paying a coach here. We’ve done fundraising before, and we’ve got good sponsors who could help us.”
Hoggies lost 42-16 to Tracy Village in Round 1 last week, and the going won’t get any easier against the Tigers on Thursday night. The team has also lost a couple of key players from last year.
But there are still high expectations ahead of the clash against Nightcliff, as well as for the rest of the season.
“Jemma Iacono is not playing with us this year and we’ve lost last year’s best-and-fairest Katie Nicholson due to work commitments, but Sophie Hatzismalis is back,” Andrews said.
“We had her for the back end of last year.
“And Rebecca Francis is also back.
“We’re hoping to do better than last year and win some finals games.”
Olivia Hatzismalis will miss Thursday night’s clash against Nightcliff with a shoulder injury she picked up while playing for the Tigers in the NTFL Women’s Premier League.
“We’re still aiming to be competitive. I’ll step in at goal attack for Olivia,” Andrews said. Banks against Pints and Waratahs v Falcons are the other Round 2 games on Thursday night.
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