The Queensland Firebirds chaos has rolled on with confirmation caretaker coach Lauren Brown has stepped down – only four days after taking over from Bec Bulley.
Brown was clearly emotional as she spoke to Fox Netball pre-game on Sunday ahead of her first match in charge, describing Bulley’s shock departure as a “tough time”.
“I really feel for Bec. I feel for the players. It’s not an ideal situation,” she said.
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“(Bec) is someone that I have a lot of respect for so it’s pretty gut-wrenching. I really feel for her and her family.
“We have to move on. Yeah. It’s not easy. But yeah. It is what it is.”
On Monday, confirmation came Brown had opted to step down from her role at the club – leaving the Firebirds’ most successful coach Roselee Jencke and Firebirds Futures assistant Katie Walker to take control.
It’s a bizarre situation the club finds itself in amid claims a “player mutiny” led to Bulley’s departure last week – with five games still remaining in the season and more than two years still to run on her contract.
But while the Australian Netball Players Association has confirmed Firebirds players did approach them for advice, Netball Queensland is refuting some of those reports.
“I can confirm reports about a player mutiny are categorically false,” Netball Queensland CEO Kate Davies said.
“Everyone at the club is reacting as best they can.
“The club and Bec Bulley came to a mutual agreement to part ways and we thank Bec very much for her hard work and commitment during her tenure.”
But Fox Netball’s Catherine Cox and Firebirds premiership winner Keirra Trompf agreed there was a real disconnect at the club.
“It seems confusing doesn’t it … it clearly indicates somebody’s not telling the whole truth I would imagine,” Cox said on Pivot regarding the mutiny claims.
“I’d find it hard to believe ANPA would lie for any particular reason.
“You can make up your own mind what is playing out here.
“There’s probably one reason you’d go to the Players’ Association.
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“This is now the second coach too, let’s not forget, that’s been sacked – for lack of a better word – in the last three seasons so something is going on there.”
The coaching disconnect was clear to see during the loss to the Melbourne Mavericks on Sunday when at times injured captain Kim Ravaillion – who was sitting alongside Brown – would leave the bench to go and speak with Jencke who was sitting in the stands.
“There’s two parts – as a player you have to respect your coach. You have to go out there no matter what your feelings are, what your thoughts are and you have to do what they ask you to do. That’s part of elite sport,” Fox Netball’s Dylan Nexhip said on Pivot.
“Obviously you don’t have to agree with everything they do.
“This doesn’t happen very often in netball. So for this to happen, something big has had to go on and there’s had to be people that are unhappy with what’s going on.”
Interestingly, netball great Norma Plummer was also sitting front row at the Firebirds clash – and is someone Cox believes would be a great fit for the club.
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“Norma Plummer wouldn’t take c**p from anybody – not to say that is going on … she is very forthright and I think she’s the perfect person for that role,” she said.
The Firebirds currently sit last on the Super Netball ladder, after finishing last season only percentage above wooden spooners Collingwood – who folded from the competition.