What we say
The departure of Jo Harten to the ANZ comes as a hammer blow for Lightning as the young England shooter was the captain and beacon of the side. Olivia Murphy will be hoping that Sophia Candappa’s experience playing Australia and New Zealand has furthered her progression as Lightning’s fortunes may rest heavily on her shoulders. A good fifth place finish shows that Lightning have a strong squad and they will hope to be pushing for a top four place.
What they say
Head Coach Olivia Murphy: “I’m interested to see how this year’s competition will play out, not only due to the change in format but also as our English players go overseas and play in the ANZ. From a Lightning point of view, we are disappointed to see Jo leave us but excited at the prospect of seeing her talent on display in New Zealand. Our shooters have to fill the hole she leaves, but have a great opportunity to fight for court time. Our mid-court will be youthful and exciting. Sophia Candappa will be one of the highlights for the league – she has exceptional technical ability and can pull off the unexpected; she is full of confidence and I look forward to seeing her progress. At the defensive end we have a real mix of gritty man-to-man defenders and those who hunt the ball; we can’t wait to see how that blends together during the season. As we know though, all teams have to hit the ground running so we need to start strong - everything is geared up for that to happen."
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