SHORTHANDED SWANS RELYING ON EXPERIENCE TO REGAIN WOMEN’S TITLE
If Sydenham Swans bounce back from consecutive CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership grand final heartbreakers by inscribing their name on the trophy for 2024, it will be a nod to the squad’s experience and depth after losing a host of key players.
Former Kiwi Ferns rep Bunty Kuruwaka-Crowe, a multiple grand final player of the match award recipient and integral to the Swans’ 2020-21 title victories, and versatile livewire Michelle Wong were both ruled out for the year in the off-season with ACL injuries.
Gifted youngster Manea-Faith Waaka suffered a broken ankle a few weeks ago, while Maya-Lin Maataele will miss the grand final showdown with Hornby Panthers due to concussion and utility Irene MacArthur has had to travel to Australia for a bereavement.
Outside back Isabella Waterman was also snapped up by Newcastle Knights’ NRLW squad.
“We’re down a bit on our strikepower, but we’ll be looking for our squad to come together and play with a good spirit and energy, play the percentages and grind out a win,” Swans coach Simon Maule says.
“On balance, Hornby may have a bit more strikepower … we’ll just have to come up with a plan to try and shut them down.
“I still have confidence in our team but it will come down to set completions and a strong D-line, that will be the difference at the end of the day.”
The table-topping Swans’ drive for premiership glory on CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day will be built around a tough forward pack who have been on this stage plenty of times before.
Going down to the Keas by identical 22-20 scorelines in 2022-23 grand final nail-biters will ensure there’s no shortage of motivation this weekend either.
“Our captain, Janaya Mata, Harmony Simalie, Usipua Togiaso, Karaita Agafili … they’ve had to step up and fill that void of leadership [without Kuruwaka-Crowe], leading by example with their actions as well as their words on the field,” Maule continues.
“The experience of those grand finals will hold our players in good stead – for some of them it’s their fifth in a row.
“We do have a bit of new blood in our team that are new to league or have come back to the game, so they’re finding their feet again.”
KEAS CLINCH BACK-TO-BACK WOMEN’S TRIUMPHS OVER GALLANT SWANS
The Swans’ chances have been boosted by the availability of dual code star Caitlin Sears, who is part of the Canterbury NPC rugby union side but will line up in the halves alongside brilliant No.7 Kyla Lynch-Brown – allowing pointscoring machine Kaylee Tavendale to revert from five-eighth to centre.
Meanwhile, Canadian import Justine Blatt-Janmaat has been a revelation at hooker in her first season of rugby league, completing a potent playmaking triumvirate, and Theresa MacPherson has been in hot tryscoring form at fullback.
“We’ve got two very good halves, Kyla’s got a great future ahead of her – for a young player she’s got great game nous and can read play well, more often than not taking the right option,” Maule enthuses.
“She’s very vital and will have to have a big game for us.
“Caitlin is steady, low error-rate, great passing game and also has a very good kicking game. So our two halves and our hooker will be key to taking opportunities, given we’re missing a bit of firepower.”
After grabbing top spot, the Swans powered into another decider with a comfortable 44-14 semi-final defeat of Burnham Chevaliers.
The flipside is they have not been genuinely tested since their 22-all draw with Hornby a month ago. The Panthers are coming off the ideal preparation of a high-intensity semi-final win over two-time defending champs Linwood Keas.
“We’re obviously really happy to get the minor premiership in terms of finishing first on the table, that took a little bit of stress out of our semi-final situation given Linwood and Hornby were the other two [top] contenders.
“It is probably a double-edged sword … we’ve seen a high attrition rate in those games between the top teams.
“On the one hand it was good to avoid that sort of game, but we haven’t been put under a lot of pressure in recent weeks so we don’t want to be complacent either.
“We’ll certainly be hoping the occasion will lift the girls and they can get that steel into their mindset around competing for everything.”
Without a win over the Panthers in 2024, Maule is under no illusion about the threats his team’s youthful opposition will present at Ngā Puna Wai on Sunday.
He also commended the attacking spirit and excitement the Panthers have injected into the CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership in the club’s first season back in the competition – while also acknowledging how difficult they will be to shut down.
“Hornby are well-coached by Tai Arona and Jonny Limmer, two Hornby legends, they’re a young team and they’re very quick, so they’ve brough a new dynamic to the women’s grade this year,” Maule praises.
“Previously teams have probably been more forward-oriented and dominated through that area, but [the Panthers] play well on the fringes and are quite well-structured.
“They’ve brought a new style to the local scene, which is fantastic, so our girls will have to be on their toes to make sure we contain their threats.”
The 2024 CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership decider kicks off at 1pm at Ngā Puna Wai on Sunday.
