Melbourne Mavericks star Sasha Glasgow is glowing with optimism on the 2024 aspirations for her new franchise, and is ready to embrace her unfortunate role on the sidelines this season courtesy of a ‘traumatic’ leg fracture in pre-season.
Recruited to the newly-formed Mavericks as a marquee signing from the West Coast Fever, the goal shooter heartbreakingly fractured her lower leg during a hit out against the Sunshine Coast in February.
While no exact timeline has been placed on the 25-year-old’s return, Glasgow is expected to sit out the 2024 season, with a hope to instead make an impact off-court and on the training track.
Watch every game of the Suncorp Super Netball Season live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
Speaking exclusively to Fox Netball, the England international spoke impressively and transparently on her recent injury setback.
“I’m actually in really good spirits – I think I had to just trust the process at that time, and I had a really amazing surgeon,” Glasgow said.
“Obviously it was quite traumatic and super devastating.”
The South Australian-born talent was full of praise for her teammates and their support during her time of hardship, and is ready to make an impact off-court for the Mavericks.
“I’m really excited for the girls and Mavericks – they’ve kept including me, kept me involved,” Glasgow explained.
“I’m just trying to give as much as I can – this would’ve been my eighth year in the SSN, so I feel like I have a lot to give and a lot of insight into other teams and their defenders.”
“My role looks very different this year, so just trying to be as positive as I can for the girls, because it’s an amazing weekend to be a part of.”
The weekend mentioned by Glasgow is set to be the biggest season opening yet of the Suncorp Super League (SSN), which includes an inaugural ‘Melbourne Derby’ showdown between the Vixens and Mavericks on Sunday.
When asked about her thoughts for the forthcoming season, the 187cm shooter was excited to see how the league unfolds from both a speed and developmental perspective.
“I think the league just adapts so quickly every year, and I don’t think you can ever write a team off; you almost have to treat every single match like an international match, you’re coming in and can’t underestimate any side,” said an insightful Glasgow.
The continued use of the ‘Supershot’ in the league has also turned heads in more ways than one, with the two-point play having more pull than ever on momentum swings.
“The ‘Supershot’ also brings such an exciting element; that can flip a game on its head,” Glasgow added.
“We just want to stay humble, take everything as it comes and make sure we put 100 per cent out on the court every time we play in a Mavericks dress.”
While the SSN’s newest kids on the block are raring to go come Sunday afternoon, they have had doubts cast over their performance, despite the very small in-game sample size.
Their predicted success in 2024 is not aided by the injuries to Glasgow and her teammate Lauren Moore, who ruptured her ACL in the Team Girls pre-season tournament.
The club’s results during the round-robin style tournament were hardly a large cause for concern, despite their winless record.
The Mavericks lost three matches all under a margin of four points, while they drew with the West Coast Fever.
“I think a lot of the media around the Team Girls Cup and how we performed there; I know people automatically assumed that’s what our results will look like this year,” commented Glasgow on external noise.
“We’re such a fresh team, and we’ve got to be given the opportunity to see what we look like in the league.
“Teams Girls Cup was a great experience for us, we didn’t come away with a win but we came away with so many learnings – and we took really good reflections into what we need to do and where we need to be better.
“You can never underestimate an underdog.”
Internally, the expectations for Glasgow’s franchise are all positive, with their eye for winning undoubtedly the highest priority.
Led in attack by English recruit and 2023 SSN champion Eleanor Cardwell, there will be no shortage of ferocity in attack for Melbourne’s newest netball team.
“I think we have prided ourselves so far in pre-season on having uniqueness, flare, different levels of athleticism in our team… (we want to) show that as a brand,” star recruit Glasgow noted.
“The most important thing is obviously winning – (it’s) 100 per cent where we want our success to be, but knowing we can measure it in different ways as well.
“When we win games, I know that we’ll still be going back to the drawing board; every week we’ll be working on what we can progress in and what we can grow from week after week.”
As for what Mavericks fans can expect this year, their on-court perseverance will be a key indicator to their success, says Glasgow.
“I think just a really dogged mentality, a never-say-side attitude mixed with really clinical netball.
“The girls that we have are all so competitive; our internal battles at training are insane.
“Knowing that from the first whistle to the final whistle, the girls will be giving absolutely everything they have, knowing that we have the depth on the bench too.”
The already much-loved Mavericks figure was complimentary of the young talent training with the club, and was particularly glowing on the reviews of young gun Jessie Grenvold.
Grenvold, who also grew up in South Australia, has previously represented SA’s U19 team and Austraia’s U21’s, before making the move to Melbourne to become a training player at the Mavericks.
“It’s really nice to have a few Adelaide faces, I absolutely love her,” exclaimed Glasgow.
“I sometimes forget how young she is – she’s only 20 – so for her to come over and take this risk and put herself out of her comfort zone to get these opportunities is great, especially under someone like (coach) Nicole Richardson.”
“She brings such a great energy and value to our team, she’s very funny and witty… I’m really proud of her!”
The Mavericks will play their first ever match in the SSN this Sunday against cross-town rivals the Melbourne Vixens, with the match starting at 2pm in John Cain Arena.
Source Agencies
