Super Netball: Liz Watson thinks premiership still possible for Sunshine Coast Lightning despite scraping into finals

Sunshine Coast qualified for the Super Netball finals winning less than half of their regular season games. But now they are there, Diamonds’ captain and Lightning wing attack Liz Watson says her side can be a serious threat.

Liz Watson believes her new team is still a hope of the Super Netball premiership. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Star Sunshine Coast recruit Liz Watson believes the Lightning remain a Super Netball premiership hope despite just scraping into the finals after a disappointing home-and-away season.

The Lightning headed to Perth on Friday ahead of Sunday’s knockout final against West Coast Fever at an RAC Arena venue that’s likely to be heaving with more than 10,000 members of the green army.

The home side will start as overwhelming favourites after dominating the early stages of the season and finishing in a three-way tie for top spot - only relegated to third after their percentage dipped lower than minor premiers the Adelaide Thunderbirds and second-placed Melbourne Vixens, who will play for a place in the grand final on Saturday.

A sea of green awaits Lightning in Perth. Picture: Will Russell/Getty Images

But the Lightning are not heading across the country just to make up the numbers.

“Obviously, we’ve had a bit of a rough season in terms of wins and losses - if you said to me, you’re only going to win six games this year and you’re going to make finals, I probably wouldn’t have believed that - but finals is completely different,” Watson said.

“All you have to do is make the four and then it’s go from there. Now that we’re in it, anything can happen.

“Our losses have been extremely close, and we feel like we’ve played really good - apart from that first time against Fever - every single game, I think it’s been within five, four goals.”

“That first time against Fever” was a 25-point loss in Perth back in round 2, a loss that was almost 20 goals worse than their next-biggest defeat - when they went down to the Giants by six points in extra-time in the scoreboard fiasco.

They will take much more confidence from their last clash against the Fever, a three-goal loss at their UniSC Arena home base last month.

With everything on the line in the knockout final, it’s time for the Lightning to perform or perish.

Last time Liz Watson’s Lightning played West Coast Fever, was at home, and narrowly went down by three points. Picture: Will Russell/Getty Images

After recruiting Diamonds captain Watson and star former Fever defender Courtney Bruce in the off-season, to add to Diamonds shooters Cara Koenen and the recently internationally retired Steph Fretwell, the Lightning were the hottest of favourites to take the premiership.

But as coach Belinda Reynolds pointed out in her pre-season interview with Lisa Alexander in Code Sports’ Super Netball interview series, the team also has several rookies who are navigating their first full-time Super Netball contracts.

Watson believes those players - including defender Ash Ervin and midcourters Leesa Mi Mi and Ava Black - have risen to the challenge and will be used to playing under pressure when the team faces the Fever again on Sunday.

“I feel like we’ve been in pressured games for probably half of the season,” Watson said.

“Lots of our games have been, ‘we really need to win this; we really need to play well’. We haven’t been able to just cruise at the top, we’ve really had to fight for that fourth position.

“So that’s been great for the group to experience, I guess, that pressure and that experience each and every week.”

It will be a big ask for the Lightning to win. But they’re not going over to Perth just hoping to get lucky.

“There’s absolutely nothing to lose,” Watson said.

“We’re there because we deserve to be there but now we’ve just got to play free and back ourselves in.”

Originally published as Super Netball: Liz Watson thinks premiership still possible for Sunshine Coast Lightning despite scraping into finals