The Adelaide Thunderbirds commenced pre-season training this week for the first time since winning the club’s fifth premiership in July last year.
Eight of the club’s 10 athletes hit the court, including new recruits Romelda Aiken-George and Laura Scherian, and elevated 2023 training partner Lauren Frew.
Head coach Tania Obst said the club was primed to deliver a strong pre-season as a full unit.
“We have eight of the ten here, with our Jamaicans returning in the following weeks… it will be the first time in a while that we’ve had our full list together in January” Obst said.
“The premiership seems so long ago, and a lot has happened in between.
“It’s nice to remind ourselves that we are the defending champions, but we are in January 2024 now and it’s all about this season.”
The club added three fresh faces to the seven returning premiership stars who re-signed for 2024.
Obst said the three new additions brought a combination of experience and talent.
“Romelda and Shez bring a wealth of experience as premiership players themselves and Lauren has been with us in our pathway programs so it’s great for her to step into the ten,” Obst said.
“Romelda is a formidable target under the post with over 200 games of experience at this level.
“She has won back-to-back premierships and added a third, so she is going to be a wealth of information for us and our young forward line.”
With the title defence officially underway, Obst said the side had their sights set on finals and the opportunity to go back-to-back at the Grand Final in Adelaide.
“For us it’s about putting our best effort out there week in and week out,” Obst said.
"We are certainly aiming for finals again and no doubt we want to be playing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in August but there are a few things we need to put in place before then.”
The Thunderbirds will travel to Ballarat for pre-season matches against the Melbourne Vixens and GIANTS Netball on March 16 and 17.
Round 1 will see the Adelaide side take on the Queensland Firebirds at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday, April 13.
See the full fixture HERE.
