Saturday, January 11, 2014

West Coast Fever head to Singapore as pre-season ramps up

e96fe 680523 2d5ec652 7a92 11e3 ad16 5b01da53a32e Singapore looks to curb hiring of expats



Nat Medhurst, Caitlin Bassett, Chelsea Pitman and the West Coast Fever are taking pre-season training to Singapore. Picture: Stewart Allen
Source: News Limited








THE last time Caitlin Bassett was in Singapore, she tasted netball success of the highest order.




It came at the 2011 World Championships, where the tall sharpshooter played a key role in Australia’s thrilling tournament triumph over arch-rival New Zealand.


Almost three years on, Bassett – as well as fellow gold medallists Nat Medhurst, Chelsea Pitman and coach Norma Plummer – will return to the scene of one of their most memorable wins for a pre-season trip with the success-starved West Coast Fever.


Bassett said she was confident the trip would provide a platform for the club to excel in the 2014 ANZ Championship season, with the entire Fever roster and development squad set to take part.


“It’s a great chance for us to go over as a team, get some match practice and to take some of the younger players in WA with us and give them some experience of what it’s like playing at the top level,” Bassett said.


“Last time I was there, we had some fantastic success and I really enjoyed it, so I’ll be looking forward to going back.


“There won’t be as much pressure this time, which is good. I was a bundle of nerves the last time I was there with the World Champs.


“I’m really looking forward to getting back there and having a bit more of a look around.”


The Fever will spend three days in Singapore, playing an exhibition match against its development squad, training with the Singapore national squad and conducting coaching clinics at schools.


Bassett said she was looking forward to continuing to develop her on-court relationship with Diamonds teammate and Fever recruit Medhurst inside the goal circle, with fellow new face Pitman also set to play a key role at wing attack.


“I love training with them. I’ve never actually had the chance to train with them for this amount of time,” Bassett said.


“I’ve even loved warming up with them and passing with them – that’s not something I get to do that often.


“They’re settling in really nicely over here and enjoying Perth, especially the weather of late.


“I think we’ve got the right mix of people in our team. We’ve got a great group dynamic and I think we’re going to have a great season.”



Follow Chris Robinson on Twitter: @CJKRobinson




West Coast Fever head to Singapore as pre-season ramps up

0 comments:

Post a Comment