By Stephanie Smarrelli
Back-to-back premierships, it really doesn’t get much better than that.
But Thunderbirds captain Hannah Petty believes the side is yet to reach its full potential.
“We didn’t nail anything throughout the season," she said.
“Defensively, we can win more ball and put teams under more pressure.
“In attack, we can be cleaner and make sure errors are limited and there are less each game to make sure when we have the ball, we're not giving it up to the opposition and giving them a chance to come back.”
Comfortable with the feeling of being the team to beat, Petty confessed she’s under no illusions a third premiership will be difficult to achieve.
Despite back-to-back premierships Petty believes the team hasn't reached their full potential.“We can't expect to do the same thing and get the same results,” she said.
“There'll be tweaks in our game plan and everything we do is to try and improve.
“But we've got to realise we've had back-to-back championships and we're going to be chasing a third one but back-to-back is pretty cool.”
Reflecting on the team’s mentality in 2024, Petty said there was one key driver.
"We openly spoke about being the hunted team early,” she said.
"We changed our language and our mentalities; we weren't done with one premiership.
“We're always hunting for more if that's on the court, off the court, in whatever it is we're doing it's always hunting for more.”
Losing only three games throughout the season, Petty recalled their Round 8 loss to the Firebirds as a crucial moment for the team.
“After the Firebirds loss we really wanted to get hungry again,” Petty said.
The Thunderbirds' loss to the Firebirds was a turning point for the team.
“We looked at some stuff really deeply after that game.
“The Firebirds were able to put us under pressure and we made some basic mistakes and that was similar with the losses to the Vixens and Fever, a few minor things we needed to change.”
While Petty believes the entire squad stepped up at different times throughout the season, there’s a few players who in her eyes really made their mark.
“My defensive end in Tilly, Shamera and Latty always shine bright,” she said.
“Lauren Frew stood up immensely, especially in the Semi Final, she was able to come into her first final and absolutely dominate it.
“She's been able to build a great relationship with Lucy and Diddy (Romelda Aiken-George) under the post.”
While on the topic of young talent, the Thunderbirds skipper is delighted for another one of South Australia’s own to join the side in 2025.
“I'm super excited to see Kayla Graham coming to our team,” she said.
Petty is excited to have youngster Kayla Graham on board for 2025."She's been a part of our program for a few years, she knows the way she plays, she knows the way we play and she's going to complement our shooting end.
“She’ll bring her style to what we do which is new and exciting for our team.”
Looking back on the Grand Final, Petty described the game as a “rollercoaster” and believed they were lucky to get away with the win.
“We didn't start the way we wanted to, credit to the Vixens they came out absolutely firing,” the skipper said.
“They shut down our play early but luckily we were able to change some things up and get the momentum back on our side to get the crowd involved.”
For Petty, the 2024 premiership holds a special place in her heart.
“Playing in Adelaide added that little bit extra of something special for the group of girls, we couldn't ask for a better season,” she said.
With the Grand Final in mind, Petty says the Thunderbirds will be raring to go when they meet with the Vixens again.
"I'm looking forward to the Grand Final rematch,” she said.
Petty is looking forward to facing the Melbourne Vixens again.“You look forward to it each year and it's happening Round 1 which is even more exciting.
“The fact it's right up first, here we go, let's bring it.”
As the team begins to get into the swing of preseason, there’s one message from head coach Tania Obst.
“Be yourself, be confident in yourself and back yourself,” Petty said.
“We’re still doing strength and conditioning stuff, managing loads before we hit the court firing but that’s been the key message for now.”
Thinking back to where the Thunderbirds were two years ago, seventh on the ladder, Petty said there’s a few contributing factors to the team’s sudden success.
"The consistency of the group and the culture work we've been doing behind the scenes,” she said.
“Everyone has that everyone's your best mate mentality.
“We're able to push each other further and we have each other's back with whatever comes our way.”
Delving into the culture a bit more, Petty explained what adds to the team’s culture.
“It's the little things that probably go unnoticed,” she said.
Petty says culture has been key to the team's success.“We can all catch up, we can have talks and we can do meetings and things like that but it's the vulnerability you show each other in the little moments.
“Whether it's going to catch up for coffee or on the training track, we have the confidence to be able to speak up no matter who you are and things like that set teams apart.”
Another key driver for the team?
Fun.
"Training is way too hard if you're not enjoying yourself off the court,” Petty said.
“We've been able to have a lot of fun along the way and we've done it our way.
“That's what's been standing out for most of us is the fact we go have fun, we look forward to changing things up and having a lot of fun off the court because that translates onto the court.”
Aside from the obvious, third premiership in a row, which no team has been able to do in SSN’s history, Petty expressed the Thunderbirds goal is to keep getting better.
“We're chasing another premiership and going for the threepeat, but deeper than that a successful season is about each individual growing and building that strong connection with each other on and off the court,” she said.
