Netball: Curse of the champions

The Adelaide Thunderbirds coaching staff are putting plans in place to keep the defending champions focused on winning the title again. Photo / Getty Images

It has been dubbed the curse of the premiers.

On top of the world's best netball league one year, competition stragglers the next.

That is the fate that befell inaugural champions the NSW Swifts, and 2009 premiers the Melbourne Vixens - now all eyes are on defending champions the Adelaide Thunderbirds to see if they follow suit this year.

The Swifts made a slick transition to semi-professional netball in 2008, they were by far the team best prepared for the new era and consequently they romped away with the title.

Virtually the same team lined up in 2009, minus veteran midcourter Selina Gilsenan, and the Swifts slumped to a ninth place finish after a dreadful season that included becoming the first team to suffer the indignity of losing to the Central Pulse.

That year it was the Vixens who set the competition alight on their way to the 2009 title. They were favoured to repeat the feat last season and started strongly, winning their first five games.

But then a loss of confidence in the shooting circle and a poor run of injuries saw the Vixens unravel, eventually finishing seventh.

It is little wonder then that Thunderbirds coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson has dissected the seasons of the past champions as she looks to ensure her side avoid falling into the same trap this year.

"The coaching staff have planned for that and we've had a very good look at what the Swifts and the Vixens have done and haven't done and we've made some very deliberate decisions both on and off the court," she said.

"We've brought new talent in and made the commercial decision to rebrand, for example we'll be playing in new colours, so there is a very clear delineation between this season and last season so we're hoping to minimise any complacency I guess."

But if the Swifts and the Vixens post-premiership slide was unforseen, it wouldn't be entirely surprising if the Thunderbirds were to struggle to match last year's heroics.

The Adelaide side have been heaviest hit in the off-season raids, losing three internationals including their all-star defensive pairing of Mo'onia Gerrard (Swifts) and English import Geva Mentor (Vixens), along with shooter Kate Beveridge, who will also line up for the Vixens this season.

Interestingly, the three defectors were all members of the "Bali Four" who were heavily punished by team management and criticised for jetting to Bali during last season's bye round. This has led to suggestion that although the Thunderbirds took out the crown, all was not well inside their camp.

But whether the trio left on good terms or bad, the end result is the same - the Thunderbirds will field a very young side this year, including two 16-year-old schoolgirls, midcourter Madeleine Proud and shooter Cody Lange, who was only brought in to the squad last week as a late replacement for Jasmine Keene.

Still, Woodlands-Thompson refuses to call it a re-building year.

"We're not going to declare it a re-build, that's been bandied about quite a bit but we offer no excuses - we're in it to win it and we're very happy with the talent we've picked and what we lack in experience we need to make up for in other areas."

It will be a tough road to the play-offs for the Thunderbirds with the Australian teams, who they have to meet twice, all looking very competitive.

The Swifts, who last season became the first side to go through the regular season unbeaten only to be knocked out in straight sets in the play-offs, are the favourites to take to take out this year's title after luring Gerrard back to bolster their already impressive defensive line.

With three international defenders and an extremely creative attacking end that includes Australian stars Catherine Cox, Susan Pratley and Kimberlee Green, Swifts coach Julie Fitzgerald said her side is "undoubtedly the deepest team in the league".

"We don't have a weak spot - we have a great 12. That is something that is quite rare in this competition, to be able to put out 12 players that are at the standard that we've got and I think that that will be our greatest asset," she said.

"We feel confident that we know where we fell short in 2010 and I know that we've worked on strategies to ensure that that doesn't happen again."

The Vixens also appear to have the line-up on paper to make them certain title contenders, but a lot will depend on how the team holds up on the injury front. They are likely to be without athletic defender Julie Corletto for the opening rounds as she battles ongoing complications from knee surgeries, and there are serious concerns over Corletto's longevity in the game.

Inspirational captain Sharelle McMahon will also have to be managed carefully throughout the season with her history of knee problems.