Netball: Watson set on making impact

Steel defender Jane Watson trains at the Edgar Centre yesterday. Photo by Lina Robertson.
Steel defender Jane Watson trains at the Edgar Centre yesterday. Photo by Lina Robertson.
Jane Watson is glad she does not have to play against Jhaniele Fowler-Reid any more.

The former Mainland Tactix defender signed a one-year contract with the Southern Steel in August and is now based in Invercargill.

Watson (24) is one of four new players in the Steel for the 2015 season and joins Storm Purvis and Phoenix Karaka at the defensive end.

While Fowler-Reid will not join the Steel until mid-January, after Jamaica and England finish their test series, the Jamaican was the toughest shooter she had defended in three years with the Tactix, Watson said.

''Just that height. Even though you are jumping, it's near impossible to get the ball most the time. It's a bit depressing, but you get over it and keep going,'' she said.

The Steel opened the pre-season with a three-day camp in Invercargill at the start of the month and held its last training of the year in Dunedin yesterday.

With half the team based in Invercargill and half in Dunedin, the squad trains once a week in both cities.

Watson, who is from Christchurch but went through secondary school at St Kevin's College in Oamaru, has enjoyed her first month with the Steel.

''I think it's a good change. I've played all my rep netball in Christchurch. I guess you get a bit stagnant in one place. It freshens you up going somewhere else, putting you out of your comfort zone a bit.''

Watson was originally called into the Tactix as a replacement player in 2012 before showing enough promise to earn full contracts for 2013-14. After three seasons with the struggling Tactix, she is looking forward to playing for a team she believes has the potential to compete for a title.

''We have got a lot of good base players from last year, and we have still got young players that are fresh and ready to go,'' she said.

''I like the way Janine [Southby] runs things. She has high expectations and she just keeps pushing you. You just want to keep going and get things right.''

Watson was part of the Christchurch team that won the national provincial competition in Auckland in October, and trialled with the Silver Ferns last year.

After finishing secondary school, she went to university in Christchurch and is now a qualified primary school teacher.

While she had been teaching at Linwood Avenue School when she was in Christchurch, she is focusing on netball for the next six months.

''I just want to make an impact and make a name for myself,'' she said.

''My focus is the Steel. Improving on last year and getting my confidence back and just going nuts, really.''

Former Tactix team-mate Sophia Fenwick has also signed with the Steel and the pair are living together in Invercargill.

After wrapping up the first month of the pre-season yesterday, Watson is heading back to Christchurch today. She will spend Christmas with her family there before celebrating the New Year, probably in Wanaka.

The Steel resumes training on January 5, and plays the first of five pre-season games in Sydney on February 6.

The regular season-opener is against the New South Wales Swifts in Invercargill on March 1.

 

 -by Robert van Royen 

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