Stacy-Ann Dehaney is under a lot of pressure these days at the helm of Cayman’s most dominant netball club.
The Roma team manager has the responsibility of preparing an A team that is looking for its third straight national championship. On the other hand, she has to rebuild a B squad fresh off a division title in its inaugural season.
Nevertheless, Dehaney states title aspirations remain the top focus.
“A three-peat is definitely possible even though everyone is coming at Roma,” Dehaney said. “I can see that All Stars A have recruited all of Maples [and Calder, which had a team last season]. They look strong but they are a new team. We are the same team and everyone on Roma is seasoned. All Stars has a lot of knowing to do of each other and how they play together.
“In netball you have to know your players’ strengths and weaknesses. The ball is round and maybe, say, Rising Stars could beat us on any given night. But All Stars are our biggest threat, our only threat.”
The quest for repeat glory got off to a rocky start over the weekend. The Cayman Islands Netball Association open league contest between both Roma sides lacked punch with many players missing on both rosters. The final score would read 44-19 in favour of the A unit behind the usual stars Kay Copeland, Nicola Pringle and Carrie Barnett.
The B team showed some promise with Jessica Angel, Samantha Dennis, Julia Watling, Roxanne Walton and Kristie Hurlston. Dennis (who contributed to the offence at Centre and Goal Attack) and Hurlston are the main holdovers from last season with Hurlston’s shooting touch remaining intact at Goal Shooter for the most part. It will be interesting to see how Jahzenia Thomas fits into the line-up as she is recovering from injury.
Dehaney states the biggest challenge remains in keeping the B team a force.
“The A team looks good, it always looks good. With the B team there has been drastic changes in the defensive line-up. It still looks good though Anissa Owen, Saneata Smith and Renece Willis [who are all in college overseas] were key players. Without them we will be looking for girls like Julia and Jessica, who can pick up the slack.”
Roma A next play on Thursday, 26 January against All Stars B while Roma B battle All Stars A on Saturday, 28 January. Both games are at 6.30pm.
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