Fever aim to eclipse crowd record
Despite finals again being out of reach for West Coast Fever, the embattled club is still adamant it can have an impact on the ANZ Championship season by breaking the league's attendance record at Perth Arena on Monday night.
Star shooter Caitlin Bassett said yesterday that support from the West Coast Eagles, who will have 60 players, coaches and staff members at the match against the NSW Swifts, would be a key driver for the bid to beat the competition's record of 8509 fans.
The Eagles support comes on the back of the club's business strategy manager Deane Pieters - a former Australian Olympic swimmer - last month being named the president of Netball WA, which incorporates the Fever.
Eagles defender Mitch Brown is also engaged to Fever centre Shae Bolton.
"It's absolutely massive for us," Bassett said. "What Deane has been doing through his experience in business and the way that he lives his life as a former professional sportsman himself, he kind of gets it. For him to bring the success he's had through his own career is so important."
Bassett, who was this week named in the Australian Diamonds team for the Commonwealth Games, said she would also use Mother's Day tomorrow to reflect on the support she has had through from her mum Gaye.
"I don't often get to see mum because we're always here, there and everywhere, all over the place," she said. "So Mother's Day is a chance to celebrate all the fantastic things she's done for me. She's been a massive support and I'm really lucky my mum and dad have been involved in my career and the successes I've had."
Gaye described her daughter's chance to play at the Commonwealth Games as "amazing".
"When she first started, I never even envisaged we would get to State league let alone that far," she said. "So we're very, very proud of her and there's so much for us to be proud of.
"She's a pretty special person."
