Down to business: Steph Fretwell

By Stephanie Smarrelli 

 
The Sunshine Coast Lightning were supposed to be the team to beat in season 2024. 

But they fell well short of their on-paper potential. 
 
Captain Steph Fretwell admitted she felt the team let the season slip away from them. 

"2024 was the year that could’ve been,” Fretwell said. 
 
“It had its ups and downs and frustrating moments.  
 
“Other than probably one game, we were pretty much in winning positions in every match and we let a lot of those games slip. We couldn’t do it for a full 60 minutes.”  

Fretwell expressed the importance of playing every minute. 

"Little moments turn into big moments,” she said. 

“We were in positions where we could have pushed leads out, but we didn't have the punish mentality. 

"One little goal we could have pushed in front turned into the other team being able to get back into the game. Being able to control those momentum swings is really important and being able to turn a lot of one or two goal losses into one or two goal or even bigger wins is important.” 
 
Outside of the club, the netball world was expecting a lot of the side which pulled off two of the biggest signings in the league, luring the experience of Origin Diamonds Liz Watson and Courtney Bruce. 
 
But it wasn’t enough to instantly make the Lightning serious premiership contenders.  

“You can’t recruit Liz Watson, one of the best players to go around and Courtney who is one of the best defenders in the world and not have eyeballs on you, that's pressure we needed to absorb,” Fretwell said. 
 
“We hooked people’s attention with who we recruited into our team but if you average out the ages, we are the youngest team. 

“We had to work towards accepting we couldn’t fly under the radar like we did the year previously because of who we had recruited.” 

Fretwell confessed at times she fell into the trap of thinking everything would work out. 

"We have the personnel to win,” she said. 

“But it doesn’t just happen because you recruit well, you've got to work really hard on those things.  

“I was guilty throughout the year of going ‘oh but we've got the personnel’ but every other team also has the personnel." 

While the captain felt like they didn’t reach their full potential, the side took positive steps forward, making finals for the first time in three years. 

But the Minor Semi Final loss to the Fever packed a punch for Fretwell. 

“I was very devastated,” she said. 

“People were going ‘oh is she retiring?’ I was like ‘no, I’m coming back.’ 

“I was probably the most upset because I felt I didn't do my job and as a leader and a more experienced athlete to get back into finals I wasn't able to execute the way I should have to help my team win.”  
 
Reflecting on where the side went wrong, Fretwell believes it was an issue that plagued them all season. 

"You’ve got to stay in the moment, each minute of the game, you can't let small things blow out into bigger things,” she said. 
 
“That's what Fever can do, they can score quickly, use the two-point shot and enjoy the grind.

“We need to live in that hard, ugly netball, it doesn't always have to be pretty but keeping possession of the ball was hard.” 

Fretwell is hoping next season the team will get their vengeance against Fever. 

“They are a team that since around 2020 we haven't really been able to get on top of and I know we've had a lot of personnel changes but that's the team that seems to always get the win on us,” she said. 
 
"I earmark them massively as a team I want to beat.”  

Reflecting on the season, Fretwell believes if they can fix one area, they’ll be a lot stronger next year. 

“Sometimes we couldn’t put both ends together at the same time,” she said. 

“We're not a team that has a big holding shooter, we have a dynamic moving circle, we have two-point power and had our defence able to turn ball all over. 
 
"Our strength is all the way across our court and throughout the year sometimes one end would be holding up while the other end probably needed a bit of work.” 
 
Looking back on some of the matches Fretwell highlighted the team’s turning point. 

“We started a little bit too well after the first round everyone was feeling pretty confident then we went over to WA and got absolutely spanked,” she said. 
 
“It was a coming back to reality, we played the Thunderbirds which went into extra time, then the Mavs was another close loss, then came the GIANTS game. Going from the high of thinking you've won a game to that whole situation and loss was hard. 

"We spoke about how we wanted to come out against the Vixens the next week...we wanted to prove we had every right to play finals and have a chance to win the Premiership.” 
 
Fretwell touched on the key message head coach Belinda Reynolds kept drilling into their minds throughout the season. 

“It was executing our game plan,” Fretwell said. 

"Belinda’s really great at whether it’s a win or a loss, she reflects the exact same way each time you need to learn from your wins as much as you learn from your losses. 

“She instilled in us belief that we're here for a reason, everyone's in the 10 to go out and execute their skills.”  

For Fretwell, there was one player in particular who stood out to her in the Lightning kit throughout 2024. 

“Leesa (Mi Mi), at times I forgot it was her first year,” she said. 

“To be a starting seven player pretty much throughout the whole year, her growth was really impressive. 
 
“You could see her working on the feedback she'd been given, she's incredibly fast, has a massive work ethic and is like a sponge, all she wants to do is learn. 

"She's also an absolute joy to have around, she is uniquely herself, says what she thinks and every team needs to have someone with her personality." 
 
Another two players Fretwell had high praise for were Ash Ervin and Ava Black. 

“We've been able to see what Ash has done on a domestic level and for her to get a call up to the Diamonds squad she's only going to go from strength to strength,” she said. 
 
“While Ava had a bit of an up and down season in terms of injury but from all reports of what she's been doing in the off season, I'm excited to see what she can add to her game. 
 
“She's a very tall midcourter and can play multiple positions, she's someone who wants to learn to be the best she can and I'm excited to see what she can do because we've only seen a small glimpse of where she could end up.” 

The goal Fretwell has is to bring the Lightning back to their glory days. 

"In those first three years, people knew they were going to come up against a tough match,” she said. 

“Then we’ve gone through patches where we were easy beats, if you could get on top of us it would blow out. 

“I want to get Lightning back into premiership contention, I want to be the team people know they're coming up against and know it's going to be a really hard match." 

Thinking about her future, Fretwell confessed she doesn’t know how long she’ll keep playing. 

“I am coming to the end of my career,” she said. 

“I’m not sure how many years are left but I want to know when I do leave netball, I've given everything possible to the club to be successful. 

“I'm 33 at the end of this year, I've always been a player not playing for accolades or playing for caps I just want to contribute for as long as I can.”