POLOKWANE – This old adage sums up the situation the provincial netball team, the Baobabs, find themselves in as they ponder their campaign in the 2016 installment of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League (NPL).
South Africa’s premier netball league used to be a two-streamed competition, but this year it will be a single Major A League, pitting the Baobabs against some of the most competitive sides in the country.
To overcome this herculean task, Baobabs head coach, Cecilia Molokoane, needs to show their competitors what they’re made of.
Netball South Africa poresident, Mimi Mthethwa, has warned the Limpopo team of the mountainous task ahead of them this season.
This time you are going to face tough opposition. You will be required to up you tempo to compete with the big guns of the national league.
Molokoane and her charges will have a mammoth task when they cross swords with elite teams like the defending champions Gauteng Jaguars, second place Free State Crinums, North West Flames, the Southern Stings of Western Cape and Gauteng Golden Fireballs.
The elite league will also feature Minnows Sunbirds of Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape Aloes, Kwa-Zulu Natal Kingdom Stars and Northern Cape Diamonds.
Of all the participating teams, the Baobabs have only identified the Sunbirds as an easy target to redeem their bruised and battered reputation.
Like the Baobabs, the Sunbirds also had an abysmal campaign during the previous season.
However, Molokoane and newly appointed captain, Vasta Mhlongo, seemed unperturbed yet philosophical when they outlined their approach to the new season commencing on 9 April.
Speaking at the official send-off media briefing held in Polokwane on Thursday, Molokoane was upbeat that Mhlongo and company will acquit themselves reasonably well in search for glory this time around.
Molokoane said: “Our campaigns during the previous seasons have been a learning curve for the players. By now, the bulk of the team, especially the senior players, are conversant with the dynamics and the demanding nature of the national league.
“On the other hand, let me stress here that we have gone back to the drawing board to analyse where we went wrong in the past. Conscious of our failed approach, we have brought in new blood and established new combinations. We are going into this season with a totally different approach and we are hopeful that it will pay dividends”.
