The Free State Crinums haven’t experienced the top of the podium in a long time but experienced mid-court player, Khanyisa Chawane believes the team is about to bloom again.
The three-time champions last tasted gold in 2016, after having won the league back-to-back from 2014. Since then, the Free State side have only come close to winning the most coveted trophy only once, in 2020, when they lost to current holders, the Gauteng Jaguars.
The Martha Mosoahle-Samm-led side, started the 2022 season of the Telkom Netball League slowly, and have only won four matches out of nine so far, leading up to the semifinals week. However the eight points they have collected so far are enough to see them in the top four of Division One of the competition. Even though their last group match is against the current log leaders, Gauteng Golden Fireballs, they still have a chance to make it to the top yet again.
Even though the Crinums lost to the Western Cape Southern Stings in their last match, Chawane believes the team is coming together at the right time.
“I feel everyone probably wants to win. But I think what is best for us is doing better than we did last year. I think we played good TNL last year then we fell off the bus right at the end, so this year it’s just finishing it off, wherever we are. Whether we play three or four, whether we play the final, just finishing off and ending better than we did,” she said.
“We probably didn’t start too well and we are still building up towards the end of the tournament. At the moment it’s a bit up and down and a bit inconsistent but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re not a good team or we’re not coming together, hopefully the team will be able to put this loss aside. We’re in the top four so we’re looking forward to getting into that semi and performing,” she added.
This season saw coach Bertha de Kock step aside with Mosoahle-Samm taking over the hot seat, but Chawane said this this move didn’t cause much of a disruption in how things are done in the team.
“I don’t think it necessarily disturbed (the team) because both coaches have worked underneath coach Bertha as she was head coach. Coach Martha has been our Crinums assistant coach and coach Karin has been our varsity assistant coach, so we have been familiar with both ways of coaches. I don’t necessarily think there might be much of a difference, maybe taking in information could be different but other than that, there isn’t much of a change,” she explained.
The changing of coaching personnel was not the only shift in the team in recent years and the Spar Proteas star believes the young team is only growing into its own now. Chawane reckons this is one of the factors that has hindered the Crinums' road back to the title again.
“I think coming into the league, we have a lot of youngsters and that is something that ever changes, we always have people that are filtering out of the team so you can’t necessarily say it’s the same team that goes in and is losing. That would be a different story but we come in as a different team every time, so that can probably cause a distraction towards the bond but we have to put that aside and come together as a team and work towards that,” she said.
In the Crinums' 51-41 victory over the Kingdom Stars, the former Team Bath player limped off the court due to an ankle injury in the last minute of the match. She will have to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the season and hope her team gets the gold while she cheers for them.
“They are suspecting a grade one tear on one of my ligaments, which is not much rest time. It’s just a week and then you can start going into it but there is a bigger picture as in this whole netball, not only the TNL but going to Commonwealth (Games) as well, so as much rest as I will need I will take and getting myself ready for whichever competition,” she said.
Going into the semifinal round, the Crinums will likely face the second-placed Jaguars in the hope of getting into the finals set for Sunday, 19 June while the first-placed Fireballs might have a date with the Stings for the chance at the top two positions.
Meanwhile, the path to the top in Division Two is not yet clear as the fourth team is not yet confirmed. The Eastern Cape Aloes top Division Two while the Mpumalanga Sunbirds and the Limpopo Baobabs are the other two teams to have secured a place in the semifinal round, sitting on equal points, 14, with just one match to go each.
Division One's bottom-placed KwaZulu Natal Kingdom Stars will fight to stay in the top league after the final round of Division Two is done.
