Today you would have likely seen the news that GIANTS shooter and Australian Diamonds captain Caitlin Bassett will be leaving the club to pursue a new opportunity in New Zealand.
Despite Caitlin having a year to run on her contract, both Caitlin and the club came to the mutual agreement that it was in the best interests of everyone for Caitlin to end her contract early and pursue her aspirations elsewhere.
There has been a lot said externally regarding the role Caitlin played this season and we appreciate the patience of our members and fans as we worked through a complex situation.
The club’s leaders and Caitlin have had some open and honest communications throughout the back end of the season and due to a range of reasons Caitlin has chosen to depart with our blessing.
Caitlin has and always will be a great ambassador for our sport and we thank her for all that she’s brought to our club and to netball in NSW and right across the country over the past two seasons in the orange dress. We wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavours at the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.
While some people externally will question the wisdom of this decision, we turn our attention to 2021 full of optimism about a bright future for GIANTS Netball.
As shown on court this year with the exciting combination of our captain Jo Harten and the up-and-coming Diamonds star Kiera Austin, our squad is evolving and there is plenty to look forward to.
Not only are we confident that Harten and Austin will continue to grow together, we are also fortunate enough to have some wonderful talent coming through, specifically our training partners in Sophie Dwyer and Matisse Letherbarrow.
At the other end of the court, our defence end continues to strengthen with many combinations available through Sam Poolman, Kristiana Manu’a and young star in the making Matilda McDonell. April Brandley also added another level of strength and experience to not only our defensive end but our team and we hope to have her sign on again in 2021.
In the mid-court, we have one of the best players in the country in Jamie-Lee Price while Maddie Hay and Amy Parmenter turned heads with their progression this season.
We want to reiterate some of what our Executive General Manager Tim Underwood has already said to you earlier this week.
First off, well done to our GIANTS Netball team on how they handled everything that was thrown their way. Those challenges were enormous but every single player, coach and staff member handled themselves with professionalism and positivity the entire way through.
We’d also like to thank you - for your unwavering support in such a tough season. To have you stand by the club, despite the lack of home games to attend, shows what a tight-knit and resilient club we’ve built in just four short years.
As we finish our fourth season in the Suncorp Super Netball competition, we continue to be driven by the pursuit of our maiden premiership title. To not make finals again this season was a bitter disappointment, but we are buoyed by some of the great leaps we feel we’ve made with a young and exciting squad this season.
To be able to play three debutants and see the continued progression of some of our most promising players sets us up for a really exciting 2021. Following today’s announcement, we’ll continue to work towards finalising our 2021 squad over the coming weeks and GIANTS fans will be the first to know all the news.
We’re forever grateful for your support of GIANTS Netball and we’re all looking forward to being able to get back out on court in front of you in 2021 with a strong and exciting squad in the orange dress.
Bring on 2021 and go GIANTS!
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Carolyn Campbell
Netball NSW CEO
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Julie Fitzgerald
GIANTS Head Coach |
