‘I see it as wildly exciting’: New QLD co-coach Katie Walker focussed on four final Firebirds wins

New Firebirds co-coach Katie Walker has all sights set on the final four rounds of the season, with a glass half full approach taken to rebuild the team and produce four finals wins to round out the year.

Glass-half-full Firebirds coach Katie Walker is adamant the Super Netball club can finish its season on a high, aiming to flip the club’s horror form on its head and win the final four matches of a tumultuous season.

Walker, who was acting as assistant coach of the Firebirds Futures side in Super Netball Reserves, has been installed as co-coach with former mentor Roselee Jencke for the remainder of the season after Bec Bulley’s axing last week.

The tumult continues for the Queensland Firebirds even after Bec Bulley’s sacking. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Bulley’s assistant Lauren Brown, who led the side last weekend, informed the club before their loss to the Mavericks that she would not carry on in the role.

Walker, a former assistant to Jencke in her last season in charge of the club in 2020, would not speculate on whether she would apply for the job moving forward.

Instead, she sees the opportunity to take over after the “wild times” for the club recently as exciting.

“(There have been) wild times indeed but I see it as wildly exciting,” Walker said of the opportunity to coach the club.

And she had no hesitation when asked her goals for the rest of the season.

“Win four games. You’ve got to go into any game in any season … it might only be four weeks for me but that’s four weeks that we want to win,” she said.

“The girls are very focussed on putting out four great performances and I think you’re foolish if you don’t go into a game believing you can do it.

Katie Walker (R) will lead the Firebirds for the remaining four rounds. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

“That’s how we’ve prepared and that’s how we’ll prepare for the next four weeks.”

It’s an admirable goal and one the Firebirds group that started the season energised and believing they could make the Super Netball finals for the first time since 2018 may have been able to achieve.

But it’s naïve to expect a group that has staggered to just two wins this season and remains anchored to the bottom of the ladder - despite a competitive start to the year and some flashes of brilliance - to be able to turn things around when facing three of the top four teams in the league.

There is no question there was a disconnect between Bulley and her players, who reportedly went to management on several occasions asking for intervention on some level - if not her axing.

That a move has finally been made could be seen as a new beginning and it may paper over some cracks for the rest of the year, but there remain deep scars at the Queensland club.

Walker said the issues of the past were not on her agenda, with her sole focus on helping the playing group be at its best for the final four games.

Walker says there is no disconnect between the playing group. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

It’s not that she’s not buying into any previous issues, more that they’re not in her control and she’s determined to look after what is.

“You’ve got to remember, I’m not in there for what people may say was the disconnect,” she said of being outside the group as far as any tension with the former coach was involved.

“So that doesn’t impact me and how I turn up to the role every day.

“There’s certainly no disconnect in terms of feeling within this playing group - you only need to see us training all week to see how connected this group are and how much they like playing for each other.

“I think you should just concentrate on the role that you’re in and doing a really good job of that and that’s certainly my focus and making sure that we enjoy our netball for the next four weeks and put out the type of netball that we all know they’re so capable of and have been for this season as well.

“I don’t see (turning things around) as a big job at all. Perspective is a funny thing.

“There’s a job to be done, we have a group of athletes that has the capabilities to do that job and our job is just to make sure we’re really clear about what our roles are and then make sure that every time we turn up to game day, we have a clear focus about how we’re going to play that game.

“And we have that this week against Fever.”

With the Firebirds coaching drama coming on the back of the NSW Swifts’ axing of star goaler Sam Wallace-Joseph, there has been plenty of off-court drama in Super Netball over the past couple of weeks.

Again, it’s not something that Walker will buy into.

“There’s always narratives created around anything and I think some people like it to be dramatic but you can’t worry about that when you’ve got a job to do,” she said.

“We can’t as coaches. Our job is to turn up here and get the best out of the athletes day in, day out.

“And that’s what we’ll be doing. Whatever the narrative is created outside of that, we have no control of.

“We only have control of turning up ready to play on Saturday. So that’s very clearly our focus.”

Walker has the challenge of rebuilding the once great team after the off-court drama. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Walker understands the hurt of all who see a once-great club on its knees.

But she’s determined to try to do something about it rather than complain.

“It is hard to watch because you always wants what’s best for a club that is so closely tied to and people that you care about,” she said.

“So it’s incredibly difficult but that’s why when this opportunity came up, was never saying no.

“I don’t want to be someone that sits in the grandstands and criticises or makes a judgment on how things should be done.

“So if an opportunity comes up to be able to make a difference, you’re going to take it and that’s exactly what I’ve done and I really hope we can make a difference, Rose and I and we can play the netball that we know we can.”