The Gauteng Golden Fireballs are no longer considered underdogs, after their inspiring season in 2022. Winning their maiden Telkom Netball League (TNL) title in fashion has put a target on their backs for the new season. The new season of the TNL will start on Freedom Day, 27 April and the first power week will run until 1 May at the Ngoako Ramahlodi Sports Complex in Seshego, Polokwane.
The league has had three winners since it was established in 2014, the Free State Crinums were the first to win it and did so back to back up to three times while the Gauteng Jaguars have won it most times. They first beat the North West Flames in the 2017 final to win it for the first time and had done so continuously until 2021 before they lost the final last year.
Should the Dr. Elsje Jordaan led team not defend their title successfully, they will be the first side to fail to defend the title.
The Fireballs will open their account against crosstown rivals, Jaguars, the defending champions will also face the Flames, the KwaZulu Natal Kingdom Stars, and the Eastern Cape Aloes in the opening week of the tournament. Captain Bongiwe Msomi understands that this is a big task.
“Going into the TNL last year the idea was we wanted to change the legacy of the Gauteng Golden Fireballs. We didn’t know what that would look like but always in our heads was winning was there. That was even when we were talking about our mental state, so we even being ready mentally, what it is going to take for us to pull through and go over the line when it really matters. We knew that coming up against the likes of the Jaguars, obviously, they had been champs for five years and you don’t just beat those people. You have to have a full plan and a full plan is not only about the score because everyone has that. It’s about what you do as a team, outside of that. Your mental state, plays a big role for us,” says Msomi.
The former Wasp Netball star realises that defending their championship successfully will not be an easy task but it’s a battle that they are prepared for.
“Coming in for this year, I think my mindset is completely different and that has to do with Fireballs. I am guessing all the other players as well because this is a World Cup year and going into it, you have to have a sense of ‘I really feel fit and ready’ because if you don’t feel like that now, then it’s a bit late to start building fitness or how you want to play this year, it’s something you want to have a go at before the first game, on the first game you want to be in a different standard.
This is not a normal year. It’s a year where we have a big task. Going into it, we speak about defending our title but in doing that and defending it, you don’t just go on the day to say I’m doing that. It’s a process and a process means taking it one game at a time. I think with the group that we have, we are looking sharp and we want to put it out that. We know it’s going to be hard because everyone wants to take it,” she says.
The competition has grown again with two more teams for this season bringing the total number of teams to 15. The league only started with 10 teams in the inaugural season in 2014, with only Gauteng having two teams. Five more provinces now boost two teams each. Msomi says this increases the competition in the league but also means more players have the opportunity to compete in an elite platform.
“The growth of the league has been fantastic. I think the more teams are added, it’s even better but also it gives some of the teams a crack at the A side where there are national standard players. That is what everyone wants to compete against, that’s why we get excited when we (Spar Proteas )play against the top three in the world. I feel there is more sense for them to play against the top guns (in the league) and see if they are really there. But it is also great that the likes of Telkom say they are not just here for the World Cup but we know that there is netball after the World Cup. That, for me, is the biggest thing to see the sponsors pulling through after the World Cup because netball is about the kids who look up to the sport and want to take it as a career. We are hoping they will stay on board, we hope that it’s going to last,” she says.