Grand Final ‘bittersweet’ for Aryang

By Stephanie Smarrelli
 

Playing in another Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final should be one of the most exciting and pivotal moments in Sunday Aryang’s career. 

And it is. 

But for the West Coast Fever defender, Saturday’s big dance will be bittersweet, knowing her sister Ruth won’t be stepping out on court by her side. 

Ruth signed with Fever for 2025 but was ruled out early in the season due to a ruptured Achilles.  

“It is a bit of a hard one for me,” Aryang said.  

“It would have been amazing for her to be a part of the group on court. 

"Sometimes I wonder how she is coping with the fact she's going to miss playing in the Grand Final. I know she's stoked we're in the Grand Final but I feel for her that she's missing out on something so big. 

“But she's still young, she's got so many more grand finals ahead of her in her career." 

The West Coast Fever will likely go into Saturday’s Grand Final as favourites, after going on a 13-game winning streak following a slow start. 

The minor premiers’ season didn’t go according to plan to begin with, starting the season 0-2 was rough for a team who fell just short of a Grand Final appearance in 2023 and 2024. 

But there was one key to Fever turning their season around allowing them to begin a record-breaking win streak. 

“Our clarity wasn't there,” Aryang said. 

“Everyone was all over the place in terms of what their role was, what we needed to do and we were all overdoing it at times.  

“We weren't keeping it simple and doing what we needed to do. 

“Jhaniele coming back gave a lot more confidence to everyone.” 

Fever haven’t lost a match since Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard's return to the side in Round 3 and Aryang believes her return has been crucial for more than one reason. 

“She’s that voice in the attack line, her connection between everyone in attack and even to us all the way at the back has been amazing in these last couple of games,” she said.  

“She's an amazing athlete and while her athleticism and her being the best shooter in the world is what gets us to where we are it’s more than that. 

“It’s the way she talks to us in the environment; her communication skills are amazing, being able to tell us how she's feeling in those moments and making it clear what she wants from everyone around her has been amazing.”  

There’s been a major learning throughout the season for the team as well. 

“Not getting complacent within games,” she said. 

“We previously had a couple of issues with our third quarters, not being able to really step our foot down in that quarter to push ahead. 

"We've been coming out of halftime breaks not with the right mindset for it and a lot of the third quarters we have played we've lost. 

“That's probably the big one for us, if we can secure that third quarter it's usually a pretty good ending." 

Having missed out on the Grand Final the last two years by a single goal, Aryang acknowledged how important it was for them to win this year’s Major Semi Final. 

And for them to continue to throw their everything at the game no matter the score. 

“After those last couple of years where we have fallen short, we've always had a discussion about the moments we needed to be better,” she said. 

“We needed to be stronger, to have that focus and our mindset on what we wanted to achieve. 

“During that Semi Final, we never stepped back, we continued to push ourselves so it’s great to be able to be in a position where you're proud of your performance.” 

The team has a clear focus heading into the Grand Final this weekend. 

“With us it's about being 100 per cent with our intent,” she said. 

“Everyone having a clear mindset and knowing what we need to do.” 

She credits head coach Dan Ryan for continuing to challenge the team. 

“Our trainings have been very good, we’re being very purposeful with what we're doing and the content Dan's putting out there,” she said. 

“It's pretty much cleaning small things up here and there and continuing to challenge ourselves during training and never making it easy so we’re always competing against each other.” 

Aryang spent most of last week focussing on herself and her own game but this week she’s turning attention to her opposition.  

Reflecting on lining up against the Vixens in Melbourne, Aryang confessed it's going to be a challenge. 

“It always sucks when you're playing them on their home court,” she said. 

“But we don't really want to overthink that and get too caught up in that. 

“For me, the processes are the same, it's just like any other regular away game. 

“I want to be able to go out there and play my role and make it as hard as possible for them." 

You can watch Saturday’s Grand Final via Kayo Sports, Foxtel and Binge. at 7.30pm AEST.