Souwest Jets open coach Brianna Murray admits having only one home game in 2025 ‘definitely disappointing’

Souwest Jets open team coach Brianna Murray has admitted the side having only one home game at Eaton Recreation Centre this season was “definitely disappointing”. The West Australian Netball League has made major changes ahead of the 2025 season, with nearly all open games to be staged at the Gold Netball Centre on Wednesday nights. A round four clash with Peel Lightning on Sunday, March 30 will be the only time the Jets’ senior side plays in the South West in 2025. All of their other games will be played at the Netball Centre apart from their return fixture against the Lightning in Mandurah in round 10. The club’s under-21 side will be more connected to the region, playing seven of their 14 home and away games in Eaton across weekends while playing away fixtures midweek in Perth. Speaking ahead of the start of the season on Wednesday, Murray said the change was “a bit tricky for everyone” at the club. “I do think that it came at a bit of a cost when they changed to the Wednesday nights,” she said. “The positive to that is the under-21s now have seven home games. I think travel-wise, that’s a huge benefit for the under-21s. “The Wednesday games for some of the regional-based athletes, that’s a huge ask. At a minimum, some are doing a six-hour turnaround. “They have to trial (Wednesday games) to see how it’s going to go, I guess. There was a little bit of a gap they’re looking to fix, so I guess this season will let them know if that’s going to do it for them.” As the most remote team in the competition, the Jets can face issues around their connection, with some of their players based in the South West and some living in Perth for work or study reasons. Murray admitted the spread of players created some challenges but said the club was proactive in trying to overcome them. “We’ve had three training sessions with the under-21s and the opens (together), which is more than we’ve had in previous years and we’ll look to do that at least once a month during the season too,” she said. “It does help to bring the club together, because that is one of the biggest hurdles playing with Perth-based and regional athletes. Perth-based teams have everyone in the same centre and they cross over with court times, so we just have to be creative and work through those challenges.” Murray said boosting the connection between the club’s senior and junior programs had been a strong focus throughout the pre-season. “It’s great to see we’ve got so much young talent coming through,” she said. “For us as a South West-based team, for us to foster a great environment and provide good culture for them to come into our space, we’ve looked to include some of the under-21s into our training this year. “It’s always great to get them to train above that level but they can play back in their age level too, I think that’ll just improve their skills. “It’s been really nice to have a bigger squad at training and see some of the older athletes foster and facilitate and help them as well, that’s been a big tick.” The Jets finished on the bottom of the open ladder last year with only one win and one draw from their 14 games but have assembled a new-look roster featuring only four survivors from their 2024 campaign. Murray did not put any specific goals on the team for 2025 but said they would be looking to improve in a number of areas. The Jets started their open and under-21 seasons against the reigning premiers of both competitions Western Roar on Wednesday night, with the games played after the time of publication. Games from court one at the Netball Centre — including the Jets’ clash with Southside Demons in round two — are available live on Streamer.