Having won the 2022 premiership, the West Coast Fever were the side everyone was hunting in 2023.
From the get-go Dan Ryan and his team said they didn’t want to look at 2023 as a chance for back-to-back premierships but as a fresh start to win a premiership.
The side fell short of making a second grand final appearance in as many years, losing the preliminary final to the NSW Swifts by a single goal.
The West Coast Fever finished the home-and-away season sitting third on the ladder with nine wins and five losses.
A good result for the former premiers, however, it felt like at times the Fever were marginally short of their best netball.
BEST WIN
The Fever started the season strongly putting five straight wins on the board before their first loss to eventual premiers the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
During those opening rounds, the Fever won a handful of matches that could go down as the side’s best win of the season, however, we’ve gone with the Round 1 blockbuster match up against the Melbourne Vixens.
Day one of season 2023, a premiership rematch in front of their home crowd against a Vixens outfit that were determined not to be blown away by the Fever once again set the scene for a classic, and it didn’t disappoint.
It was an intense battle from start to finish with the Fever’s fast start enabling them to go into the first break with a five-goal lead. That lead set the Fever up to win by a goal with the Vixens forced to try and narrow the deficit throughout the match.
Jhaniele Fowler and Sasha Glasgow were on fire, only missing one goal between them for the entire match.
The Fever held possession of the ball for less time than the Melbourne Vixens throughout the match, however, their efficiency in the first term converting 100 per cent of the gains that came their way was instrumental.
Intercepts were hard to come by throughout the match with the Fever’s Sunday Aryang and Courtney Bruce combining for three while the Vixens defenders finished the match with zero intercepts.
GAMECHANGER
It would be easy to call Fever bookend Jhaniele Fowler the side’s gamechanger topping the league for Nissan Net Points with 1413.5 and goals with 818, however, we’ve decided to look outside the goal circle.
No, not to the other end of the court where Courtney Bruce dominates week after week with 32 intercepts for the season but to the midcourt where one player has been quietly going about her business.
Alice Teague-Neeld.
First in the league for goal assists and centre pass receives with eight intercepts and 24 deflections, Alice Teague-Neeld firmly held the Fever midcourt together in 2023.
The goal attack turned wing attack’s regular injection into the midcourt continued to reap rewards for the Fever in 2023.
Her experience and ability to hit the circle edge to perfectly time and place a feed into Fowler almost unstoppable once in motion.
FOCUS AREA
The one-goal preliminary final loss was reflective of many of the side's losses in 2023, with the Fever suffering one goal losses four times in 2023, with just one other loss to their name.
The slight fumbles and failure to execute the one percent moments will be something the side aims to improve next season as they look to return to the pointy end of the table.
The West Coast Fever’s lineup could face a shake up if signing rumours come true and Fever captain Courtney Bruce is lured away from her home state to reconnect with former Fever assistant coach and current Sunshine Coast Lightning head coach Belinda Reynolds.
To keep a high number of defensive wins flowing without Bruce the Fever could look to poach another high quality defender with the ability to turn a match on its head, someone like Shamera Sterling perhaps?
Another option for the Fever would be Matilda McDonnell, the young GIANTS defender who provides the same fierce and competitive energy that Bruce does. Although she doesn’t win the same amount of ball back, she has the potential to turn into one of the league’s best defenders with more experience.
The midcourt would also be an interesting area for the Fever to explore, the trio of Jess Anstiss, Verity Simmons and Alice Teague-Neeld is tried and true but with former Magpies Kelsey Browne and Molly Jovic on offer it could be tempting to make a change.
