Melbourne Vixens are poised to sign the last out-of-contract member of their premiership team when a deal with Kate Moloney is inked in the coming days, with young shooter Alice Teague-Neeld expected to fill one of the four remaining vacancies on the Vixens’ roster.
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Moloney, 21, the midcourter who excelled in last month’s grand final victory over Queensland Firebirds, will join Madi Robinson, import Geva Mentor, Liz Watson and Karyn Bailey in re-committing to the two-time champions, while Bianca Chatfield and Tegan Caldwell plus young defender Jo Weston are all contracted for another year.
The bench trio lost to other clubs are defender Amy Steel (Thunderbirds), mature-aged midcourter Caitlyn Strachan (Firebirds) and rookie shooter Erin Hoare, who was poached by the NSW Swifts.
Team lists must be lodged by the end of August, but coach Simone McKinnis wants hers finalised as soon as possible, and says she is unperturbed by the number of high-profile signings being trumpeted elsewhere.
‘‘Hopefully Kate’s [re-signing is] finalised in the next few days, and to have our starting seven is a strong starting point for us,’’ McKinnis said. ‘‘I know that we’re maintaining our core, so I feel really good about that.
‘‘I'm disappointed to lose Caitlyn, Amy and Erin, but I also feel comfortable that we’ve got some good talent there to come in; we’ve just got to work out the balance across the positions and what we need to bring in to complement what we’ve got.
‘‘And I completely understand the girls who have decided to go elsewhere. Caitlyn’s an older athlete, she’s got to make it happen now, grab the opportunity now, and she felt that that was elsewhere, and same with Amy, she’s just desperate to get out there on court.’’
Hoare’s departure was the most surprising, said McKinnis, considering that Cath Cox's retirement was expected to provide more experience for the promising 193-centimetre shooter the coach labelled ‘‘very much a work-in-progress’’. At the Swifts, she will be behind Commonwealth Games debutante Caitlin Thwaites in the queue for minutes.
Teague-Neeld, the Victorian Fury ANL star and daughter of former Melbourne coach Mark Neeld, is the obvious third shooter behind Caldwell and Bailey, having spent bench time as a replacement player for the Vixens this season, which leaves vacancies for another goaler, a circle defender and a mid-courter.
‘‘We have to look across the board,'' McKinnis said. "We’ve got some great talent here in Victoria, obviously, but we have to find what the team needs, so if that's from interstate, well, so be it. With ANZ Champs franchises, there’s no state borders, so to speak, so we’re open that it’s about getting the right person for us, and if that’s from Victoria or elsewhere, so be it.’’
