Being in quarantine won’t stop this super coach from taking charge of her team 2000km away.
The reworked Super Netball draw put the NSW Swifts back on court one day too soon for quarantining coach Briony Akle to be courtside, but she will still have a strong game-day presence.
Akle has been isolating from her team in Adelaide, with two of her children, after being deemed a close contact of a positive Covid case.
Her quarantine period ends on Tuesday but not in time for her to relocate to Queensland to join her team, and border restrictions mean that process could take some time.
But league officials have given the green light for her to chat with her players by Zoom on Tuesday for a rare afternoon clash with the Collingwood Magpies after all matches scheduled for last weekend were abandoned.
She will be able to connect with the team pre-match and during halftime of the clash in Brisbane, a move approved by the league’s integrity department.
“It’s just bad luck and bad timing that Briony’s isolation period ends on the day that we play our next game, but she has every confidence in Bec (Bulley) and the team to get the job done,” Swifts executive general manager Nikki Horton said.
“We have a week until our next clash, so the focus after the Magpies game is to get Briony and our physio reunited with the Swifts travelling party.
“We are hopeful that South Australia‘s border with Queensland will reopen in the coming days; however, we are also working on exemptions should there be any delay on that front.”
Swifts co-captain Maddy Proud said even from afar Akle had been “instrumental”in what the team, which has been relocated four times amid Covid upheaval, had been doing.
“Obviously not having Briony courtside is a blow but she has been instrumental in our build-up and very busy on performance analysis,” Proud said.
“She has sacrificed more than anyone to keep the Super Netball season and our campaign alive, and there comes a time when we as players have to step up.
“We’ve won a title together, we are a really tight-knit unit and Briony has taken us to this point. It’s our responsibility to keep the show on the road until we get her back in our environment.”
Assistant coach Bulley will again coach the team from courtside.