What there was to like

There was a lot to like about the Firebirds in 2020, from finishing the previous season at the bottom of the ladder, they just missed finals in 2020. Their upset win against the Vixen’s was a highlight. Their defensive line up has gotten extremely strong, with the partnership between Kim Jenner and Tara Hinchcliffe have become extremely hard to get past. Adding Gabi Simpson into the mix with her at Wing defence, it’s certainly a strong defensive line.

Their attack end is just as good, with the addition of Tippah Dwan, her use of the super shot has gotten really good and the way Romelda Aitken has adapted to the rule change and has become a force to be reckoned with in that goaling circle.

Their Round 13 match against the Vixen’s was one of their best of the year, Which will sure bring the side a confidence boost going into next year. Young gun Tippah Diwan said “Beating the top  team is always going to be a really big achievement for us and I think if we build on that game especially, that's probably our best game in season, we'll have a really good year next year.

Their young guns stood up, with the likes of Lara Dunkley, Mahalia Cassidy and Tippah Diwan really starting to make those Wing Attack and Goal Attack positions their own.

Speaking to Tippah about a highlight was her stunning performance in round 10, which saw her beat the Nissan Net Points record

“My game against the Swifts, I think that was probably my best game that I had. And, yeah, it was just so much fun and I've always played well with Romelda and I think we really built during that game so it was good.” Tippah Said

What they need to improve on for next season

The one thing that the Firebirds need to work on is their consistency within a game. Take the round 1 game as an example, they were in front by a lot at half time, but fell away in that second half, and similar patterns happened for their second clash with the Lightning, where they were in front going into quarter time but dropped off as the game went on.

According to Young superstar Tippah Diwan said “just starting the season really strong we didn't get a win for a couple of games there, so I think just focusing on that the first part of the season and not having to travel behind in the second half of the season”

Looking Forward to 2021, For Tippah it’s all about building connections

“I think just building all of our connections definitely with Romelda and the middies (midcourt’s) I think that's definitely a big thing and also Gretel comes back and plays next year just building connections with her too.”

With the Club confirming the 2020 season, was the last year that coach Rosalee Jencke OAM final year at the helm, they will be headed by a new coach in 2021. The Firebirds are an exciting team when they are fit and firing at it will be very hard to beat.