Hawks enter fresh netball coaching era

The young duo was appointed late last year and took charge of their first pre-season training this week.

They take over the reins of a Hawks team, which finished last year's shortened season - played without finals - in fifth position under former coach Gayle Annan.

Discounting the 2020 season, which was cancelled due to COVID-19, the Hawks have featured in the top five in each of the last four A-grade seasons.

It's a record Lawton, the Hawks reigning best and fairest, and Saunders, who will be a non-playing coach, are keen to preserve and ultimately maintain.

"This season is going to be very competitive and challenging for all clubs, given the recruitment and player movement that has occurred in the off-season," Saunders said.

"The league is definitely going to be very strong this season.

"Our girls have the potential to push for a finals position and this is certainly our aim."

One of the new coaching duo's first tasks will be settling on a new shooting combination for 2022.

The Hawks have retained most A-grade players for 2021, but will be without strong and skilful goalers Ash and Abby Gilmore.

Ash is taking a break from netball, while Melbourne-based Abby, a Hawks premiership star in 2012, has committed to playing closer to home after returning to the Hawks last season following a long absence.

Their departure leaves a gap in experience, but Saunders and Lawton will be looking for some of the Hawks' quality youngsters to make the step up to A-grade.

Among those already slated for a position in A-grade is Jasmin Gallagher, a versatile youngster with a few A-grade games already under her belt, while Kate Clow will make the jump from A-reserve following an excellent season in 2021 when she cemented her spot in the A-squad.

The new coaches have a hard six weeks of fitness-based training (two sessions per week) planned, under the guidance of a personal trainer, with a transition to court-specific work towards the end of February.

That will be followed by three to four practice matches and a 'whole club' bonding session.

Both coaches have been regular features on and off the court at Eaglehawk in recent seasons, with Lawton having coached Hawks development teams and their 17-and-under team since 2020.

She has been a mainstay in defence at A-grade since crossing from Sandhurst, where she played B-grade and A-reserve in the mid-2010s.

Saunders is in her ninth season at Canterbury Park after joining the Hawks from successful Sunraysia league club South Mildura, where she played A-grade and coached junior teams, including representative teams.

At Eaglehawk, she has played both A-grade and A-reserve and has had stints as coach of the Hawks' A-reserve, 17-and-under and development division one teams.

She will continue to coach A-reserve this season alongside Jackie Gallagher, while Lawton will coach the 17-and-unders with her A-grade team-mate Gracie Berryman as the assistant.

Lawton said their different backgrounds, but familiarity with each other's coaching methods and philosophies, and the ability to bounce ideas off each other, had convinced both a joint-coaching set-up was the best way forward for the Hawks.

"We have played a lot of netball together at Eaglehawk and been in leadership positions throughout this time," she said.

"We also share a lot of the same values and philosophies surrounding netball, with a strong competitive drive.

"I believe our experiences and backgrounds will complement each other.

"For us, it's more beneficial co-coaching because it brings a variety of skills and knowledge to our team.

"We also have different experiences and knowledge in different areas of the court which will be beneficial for our players.

"It also allows for the opportunity to have one coach on the court experiencing the game first-hand and one of the sidelines, giving a different perspective."

In other Hawks coaching appointments, Marnie Roos will coach the B-grade team, with Tess Doran taking charge of B-reserve.

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