The Lightning Brings the Coast to the Forefront

The team of internationals finds itself reaching across the world to find its final form

I lived on the Sunshine Coast for most of my life. I played a multitude of different sports, but I don’t think I ever saw a local netball game being played at any of my nearby sports fields or clubs.

But this year, the Melbourne Storm announced they had backed a new team located on the coast — the first professional sports team based in the quiet town.

It was a genuinely surprising and exciting development for me and my mother, a sharpshooter for the Blaxland Netball Club in the 70s, who now gets to see some of Australia’s best shooters — playing her favourite sport — just 10 minutes from her home.

The Lightning’s team became official today after late last week announcing the signing of Diamonds GS, Caitlin Bassett and rookie Diamond, Steph Wood. Bassett’s ability to guard and hold her position on the post and as well as maintaining a consistently high shooting percentage are the reason she carries the attacking flame for the Diamonds. And Steph Wood has been waiting for her starting time after coming off the bench for the Swifts for most of her career. Wood is a cunning shooter who isn’t afraid to jack it up from a distance, but also find the space to dig closer to the net.

It’s a formidable combo and one that coach Noeline Taurua would be all too familiar with, having coached Jamaican superstar, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid during her tenure at the Southern Steel.

Laura Langman at the centre is an incredible addition to the team as well. Her starting centre play for the Silver Ferns is matched only by Ravaillion, but Langman is a player that is able to shape her play style to those around her. Her reliability playing in the midcourt by driving the ball to and from each end her length and court vision makes her the most sought after floor general in the game.

Defensively, there’s some smart, hyper physical pickups for the Lightning, too. Geva Mentor, Erena Mikaere and South African, Karla Mostert, all exude never-say-die efforts that coaches can only dream of. It’ll be interesting to see how Mostert adjusts in this league after coming off a great looking run with South Africa during the Quad Series. Mentor and Mikaere both share imposing, physical defensive mindsets. Similar in height, Coach Taurua has the luxury of rotating them in and out of GK and GD, so I would expect to see defensive switches as the season goes on.

And one of the more intriguing aspects of this team is coach Noeline Taurua. With Taurua at the helm, her balanced style of controlled, slower netball seems destined for questioning among the faster styles of play that some of the Australian teams nestled themselves into. It’s an exciting coaching opportunity that could see other teams play into the Lightning’s possible style rather than their own which, in turn, could spell trouble for an opposition that find themselves caught in that rip.

The Lightning has a tonne of representative talent in all aspects of the game and, that, coupled with the coaching smarts of Taurua, should be a huge draw card for what could be yet another special franchise on the netball horizon.

Teamlist: Caitlin Bassett, Steph Wood, Laura Langman, Geva Mentor, Erena Mikaere, Karla Mostert, Laura Scherian, Kelsey Browne, Madeline McAuliffe