Lisa Alexander one-on-one: Dan Ryan West Coast Fever’s roster upheaval, new faces, title hopes

In two seasons at West Coast, Dan Ryan has ridden the Super Netball rollercoaster. He reveals to LISA ALEXANDER how the club will bounce back from an off-season of pure upheaval to become a powerhouse once more.

Courtney Bruce was an imposing, iconic and seemingly irreplaceable presence on the court for West Coast Fever.

Bruce’s exit, coupled with that of Sasha Glasgow and Verity Simmons, forced Dan Ryan to overhaul recruiting plans and on-court tactics.

Ryan opens up about how the club rebooted after their premiership captain’s departure, the leadership ballot that followed, and his own philosophies in the latest interview of Lisa Alexander’s SSN coaching series.

FAIRYTALE FIRST YEAR

Ryan’s journey is unlike any other. The former captain of the national men’s netball team became Adelaide Thunderbirds coach in 2017 and oversaw a 27-match losing streak.

Lessons learned from that experience and ensuing stints in charge of Ireland and start-up franchise Leeds Rhinos, where he famously gave Donnell Wallam a chance to shine before she was on any SSN club’s radar, proved transformative.

The Victorian was appointed Fever coach in 2022, after Stacey Marinkovich’s ascent to the Diamonds post, and immediately delivered the club’s first title of the Super Netball era.

“It was amazing,” Ryan reflects.

“I felt really confident going into the job that I was ready to at least step back into SSN, having done the hard yards leading up to that moment, but the interview process and the application process went for about six months.

“The philosophy was very much around respecting what had been put in place before.

“It was really about empowering the group and instilling confidence in them that we were so close, we just needed a little bit more

“I used a lot of the language ‘championship material’, which is something that’s very connected to my coaching philosophy.”

Watch the excerpt here

BACK TO THE PACK

West Coast’s premiership defence started with five wins and a lot of promise, but ended with a one-goal loss in a preliminary final.

Ryan highlights how his team “got very bloody close to making another grand final”, their biggest losing margin of the year was three goals and they were “probably in winning positions in every game”.

But he concedes the 2023 season prompted deep reflection while reinforcing, among other things, the importance of depth and versatility.

“We lost our way with a little bit of function within the team, we lost our way with a little bit of competitive edge under pressure,” Ryan said.

“For all of us, it was the first time being the defending champions and that feels and looks different.

“As the season went on, it got harder and harder for us to keep our heads above water and I guess survive all the challenges that we were facing.

“Look at that grand final, by quarter-time all 20 players had stepped foot on court. So you can’t run a seven or an eight any more, you need 10 players, positional versatility and seamless interchanges.”

Watch the excerpt here

THE EXODUS

The Fever’s list was suddenly and surprisingly overhauled as netball’s bitter pay war provided the backdrop for a chaotic off-season of player movement.

Ryan bid farewell to captain Courtney Bruce (Lightning), Sasha Glasgow (Mavericks), Kim Jenner (Mavericks) and Verity Simmons (AFLW).

Ryan freely admits he didn’t anticipate so much change in personnel, describing Simmons’ decision to retire from the sport as “devastating” and “absolutely shocking for all of us”.

“And in theory, if we didn’t have the CPA battles, we would have been week five of pre-season when she told us that,” Ryan said.

“Vezzy was the ultimate team culture player, the best team person I’ve ever experienced. That was tough to lose her.

“But so glad she could go out on her own terms as well, she deserved that.

“Being notified that … a Courtney or a Sasha were on the move, that had to change our philosophy slightly and shift us in different directions. And we embraced that, and the 10 that we’ve ended up with is so exciting.”

Watch the excerpt here

SUNSHINE GIRLS IN SYNC

West Coast looked overseas when filling the biggest gaps in their new-look squad.

Goal attack Shanice Beckford, having contemplated retirement after helping Jamaica secure a bronze medal at last year’s World Cup, was given her first opportunity to shine in netball’s premier league.

Beckford’s one-year deal was complemented by the signings of Englishwoman Fran Williams, who will also make her SSN debut, and Kadie-Ann Dehaney, who left the Lightning as they made room for Bruce.

The goal-laden combination of Sunshine Girls Beckford and Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, among the greatest SSN players ever, should make the Fever a potent force.

“When Sasha informed us that she was on the move and needing to play a bit more goal shooter for the next step of her career, we immediately locked into Shanice as a priority,” Ryan said.

“In terms of ensuring that we had that established shooting combination.

“What Shanice brings to our game is an incredible workrate … she’s always a release of pressure, a great feed into Jhaniele, an excellent Super Shot shooter.

“I thought that she would really complement Alice (Teague-Neeld) at wing attack really nicely. And just give us a point of difference that perhaps we haven’t had in recent years in that role.

“The fans will love her.”

Watch the excerpt here

THE LEADERSHIP BALLOT

Replacing premiership captain Courtney Bruce’s defensive pressure is only part of the challenge for West Coast.

WA product Jess Anstiss, who always loomed as the leading candidate to succeed Bruce, was formally appointed skipper in March.

Ryan explained to Alexander how player power shaped the decision – and just how much support there was for the club’s heart and soul player to become captain.

“The biggest thing for Jess is the confidence she gains, knowing that every single person that nominated – all 25 unanimously had Jess Anstiss as West Coast Fever captain,” Ryan said.

“We felt it was really important to go back to a nomination process, for the playing group to choose who they wanted to lead them forward, particularly with this new group.

“Whilst Jess is quite understated as a personality, she’s very much a connector, she’s measured, she’s reliable, she’s consistent.

“She is such a team-first player and champions equality in our environment … she’s respected and trusted by everybody. And that’s what you need in your captain.”

Watch the excerpt here

DEFENSIVE OVERHAUL

The reality is you can’t fill the void left by someone like Courtney Bruce, arguably the world’s best defender and the Diamonds’ most important player.

You have to change the way you play.

Ryan embraced that assignment with some help from England captain Fran Williams.

“Courtney has been such a pillar of our defence line,” he said.

“But what we’re seeing now in our group is that we’ve got multiple ball winners, it’s not just up to one player winning us ball … our attackers are being lethal on defence too.

“Fran would be the defender that I think has the best defensive netball IQ that I’ve ever experienced, she is very clever.

“Her ability to learn the language, learn the strategies and structures and now drive them and be really influential is amazing. Her combination with Sunday (Aryang) across the line together is terrifyingly good.”

Watch the excerpt here

THE DIAMOND SET TO STEP UP

Sunday Aryang’s rise has been remarkably rapid since she joined West Coast as a teenage training partner in 2019.

Aryang quickly graduated to the Diamonds squad. The 23-year-old is already a World Cup winner, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Super Netball premiership player.

And the Diamonds’ first African-born player is only just getting started, with Ryan highlighting how she has “just gone next level” in 2024.

“She’s got a new lease of life,” Ryan said.

“She’s been unbelievable from a training perspective, a leadership perspective, elite behaviours, attention to detail.

“Since she’s come back from the January quad series, just taken a huge leap forward with everything.

“We just love Sunday here, we adore her so much. But just seeing her grow over the past couple of months in our environment has been amazing.

“She’s on track to be probably Fever’s next captain.”

Watch the excerpt here

* Lisa Alexander is sitting down with every Super Netball coach to discuss the art of coaching, their hopes for 2024 and more. The series concludes next week with Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald and Mavericks mentor Tracey Neville.