Fever shoot to be winners

West Coast Fever launched their 2014 ANZ Championship season in style at Rosendorff in the Hay Street Mall this morning with a simple message: we want to win.

Coach Norma Plummer and star captain Nat Medhurst were not hiding away from expectation as all 12 members of the Fever line-up gathered at the city jewellery store ahead of a season they hope will finally deliver the success-starved club a maiden finals appearance.

Plummer said her ability to bring in players such as Medhurst and Chelsea Pitman in the off-season, as well as the gains achieved in her first two years as coach, meant 2014 was the year to produce the goods.

“Win,” she said. “That is the outcome we want.

“We don’t want to be the team that’s just out there.

“There are only a few things we need to do.

“Defensively we have to pull in a few more and if we get those turnovers, we will be very much a big contender in this competition.”

Both Medhurst and Plummer conceded their preparation had been disjointed with several players away on national duties, but believed they could overcome that with practice matches over the next fortnight.

They will travel to Melbourne next week for a pre-season tournament against the other ANZ Championship sides ahead of their first regular season match on March 2.

“We are really looking forward to these next two weeks together,” Medhurst said.

“Now we have got the 12 of us together I think, as a group, we will really start to get those combinations going and develop now a lot quicker in what we are trying to achieve.

“The amount of time we have on court together is crucial.”

Plummer said there were a few aspects of the game plan, such as retaining possession, that would be workshopped in Melbourne.

“We are looking forward to the match play,” she said.

“It is a lot harder for us to pull a really top game for a practice match (in Perth).

“It will give us more of a benchmark of exactly where we are sitting.”