Down to business: Jess Anstiss

By Stephanie Smarrelli 
 
There’s nothing like the intensity of a Preliminary Final.  

And for West Coast Fever captain Jess Anstiss, she’s experienced that pressure at Suncorp Super Netball level four times... three of them ending in heartbreak. 

The 2024 season marked the second year in a row where Fever made it to one of the biggest matches on the netball calendar, only to lose by a single goal. 

Having been so close in 2023 for history to repeat itself was a punch to the gut for the Fever captain. 
 
“Frustration,” Anstiss said on how she felt after the match. 

“It took a few weeks to get over.” 
 
As captain, Anstiss had to manage her own emotions while supporting her teammates through the ‘brutal’ loss. 

 
“It was pretty tough managing my own emotions and also supporting the team,” she said. 

“I was reassuring people of the plenty of opportunities coming. 

“As a team we're sticking to pretty much the same list and having these experiences together is only going to make us better for the next few years to remember what it feels like to lose those Prelim Finals and use that as fire next season.”  

Looking back now, Anstiss has been able to reflect on the positives of the 2024 season. 

 "We actually did an awesome job considering how many changes (to the team) we did have,” she said.  

“To get that far was really good, it's not what we were expecting and not what everyone else was expecting of us.” 
 
Preseason there was a lot of noise around the Fever, with many predicting they wouldn’t make the finals after keeping only four players from their 2023 team. 

“We tried to stay in our own bubble,” Anstiss said. 
 
“It's quite nice being the underdog with people predicting you aren't going be great and then you’re able to prove them wrong.” 

But while the team defied expectations, they still fell short of finishing in the top two for the second year in a row, meaning their only path to the Grand Final was to win the Minor Semi Final and Preliminary Final. 

“The learning is to not be in that position again,” Anstiss said. 

"Every game throughout the season counts and weighs in on finals. 
 
“We've lost two finals by one point to get into Grand Finals but knowing if we had finished in a better position, we would have been in a different position.” 
 
Fever started both the 2023 and 2024 seasons undefeated through the first six rounds but hit a midseason slump. 

“It's something we have looked into a fair bit,” she said. 

“We have come out of the gates really well and then had a slump in the middle part of the season and then somewhat come back up towards the end.” 

There’s a couple of factors the Fever camp believes led to their midseason woes. 

 “You come back against teams the second time and they've been able to see what you guys have done throughout the year, and they have adapted,” Anstiss said. 

“We need to build on a different game plan heading into the second half of the year and keep adding things to the game plan.” 

The second factor is a challenge facing many WA based sporting teams, travel fatigue.  

“A little bit of fatigue hit us because of all the flying we have to do throughout preseason and in the season,” Anstiss said. 

“We probably don’t talk about it enough to be honest, the AFL sides have been talking about it a fair bit lately. It does add a whole different level, but you have to deal with it, being from over in the west you get used to it, but it does play a big role. 

“We've come up with a solution to maybe have a bit of a mid-season break to see if that might help, we're trying all different things.”  

One of the things that has been working is head coach Dan Ryan. Anstiss praised him for his creative coaching style and how he keeps the team engaged. 

“He thinks outside of the box,” she said. 

“We have different drills every training and different ideas, the way he thinks and bounces off our assistant coaches is good. 
 
“In the training environment, he's very up and about and passionate which is what the team needs we feed off his energy.” 

Looking ahead to 2025, Anstiss believes the goal for Fever is to build on the progress they made last season. 

"Off the back of last year, we came together quickly and created connections it's about building on that,” she said. 

“The fact we have the same team enables us to take it to the next level and really focus on the games throughout the season to put ourselves in the best position come finals time.” 

She also had high praise for a couple of her teammates who stood out in 2024, including Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard. 

"The attacking end was awesome, everyone always expects Jhaniele is going to be amazing, but she took it to another level, having two of her Jamaican teammates along for the ride definitely helped,” she said. 

"Scoring Super Shots is something she’s added to her repertoire. People expected her to just stand under the post, but she was able to prove she's a Super Shot threat as well. 

"Then Sunday’s always been a quiet assassin, but in terms of her on court and off court leadership she really stood up.” 

 Speaking of Sunday, Anstiss is thrilled to have her sister Ruth Aryang officially on board.  

"It's awesome to have Ruth in the team especially playing alongside Sunday,” she said.  

“She's worked really hard over the last couple of years after her ACL injury and her elevation is insane. She was breaking all sorts of records in the gym, expect her to get up against those tall shooters and come out for some flying intercepts.  

"Her energy is great to have in the team this year.” 

Looking ahead to 2025, Anstiss says there are two teams Fever are really focused on beating. 

"Our track record last year, especially against the Thunderbirds was not very good in Adelaide,” she said. 

“They’re a team we will be focusing on coming into next season and our battles with the Melbourne Vixens are always really tight and really strong that's another team we always have a tough battle against.”  

At 28-years-old, Anstiss is starting to think about her life away from netball. She’s balancing her netball career with studying for a teaching degree and some administration work to keep her mind busy away from the sport. 

But she's not ready to hang up her bib just yet.  

"It's always been a dream to play for Australia and the Origin Diamonds,” she said. 

“Although I'm getting a little bit older now it's something I'd love to be able to do. 

“With Fever, I'd absolutely love to win another premiership.”