General News
26 January, 2022
Tigers appoint co-coaches
SIMPSON Football Netball Club has appointed long-time club members Paige Salmon and Jessie Hawkins as its new A grade coaches.
SIMPSON Football Netball Club has appointed long-time club members Paige Salmon and Jessie Hawkins as its new A grade coaches.
The duo have played together at the Tigers throughout their careers, beginning in junior netball and both playing in the club’s maiden Colac DFNL premiership in 2018.
The Tigers haven’t made finals since their 2018 triumph, but Simpson netball president Casey Tesselaar believes Salmon and Hawkins are the right women to put the club back in the hunt for finals success.
“I think they’re both great leaders, they’re both very smart netballers,” Tesselaar said.
“Paige plays defence and Jessie plays goals, so that’s a really good combination in terms of knowing each end of the court.
“They’ve played juniors together, all their senior netball together, so they’re really good teammates as well.”
Like every club, Simpson has had to navigate a constantly evolving COVID-19 environment over the past two years, and Tesselaar sees Salmon and Hawkins’ role as one of unifying and focusing the club.
“With the last two years, with COVID affecting the seasons, I think netball everywhere is a little disjointed,” she said.
“We want leaders (like Salmon and Hawkins) there to bring the club back together and get people back playing sport.
“Off the court it’s about getting everyone together, playing netball, socializing, and doing all the things we’ve missed out on for the last couple of years.”
Tesselaar hopes a renewed sense of camaraderie around the club will translate to a finals berth.
“On the court we’d like to see all the senior teams back in the top five,” she said.
“We’ve been sitting out of the finals for the last couple of years since that premiership team due to losing some players and having a younger crew.
“Getting everyone back into the top five would be the goal.”