Sunshine Coast Lightning’s new coach Belinda Reynolds reveals plans for lifting the club from its lowest point after Dame Noeline Taurua’s exit

The club’s foundation and two-time premiership coach, now back across the ditch leading her native Silver Ferns, remains a revered figure at Sippy Downs, with her successor and former assistant Kylee Byrne having failed to earn a new contract following a wooden spoon second season in which the Lightning missed the finals for the first time.

“It’s a really good point you make,’’ says Reynolds, a former Perth Orioles player and five-year West Coast Fever assistant, when asked about Taurua’s enduring and powerful legacy.

“I acknowledged straight away to the group that I wasn’t Noeline, because I know they had such a great respect for her and so do I. I think she’s an awesome coach.

“But just acknowledging that I’m not her, I think, broke that ice. Just acknowledging, ‘I agree she’s done great things, but this is me and this is my plan and are you willing to jump on the ride with me … and they all bought into it.’’

Taurua was on the interview panel for Reynolds’ final presentation to the Lightning board and CEO Danielle Smith last October. It was interesting, too, that in the ensuing press release, Taurua was quoted as endorsing the appointment.

Indeed, the incoming coach felt a quick shot of confidence when it was time for Taurua to pose some questions and the orchestrator of New Zealand’s 2019 World Cup triumph was momentarily stumped, because Reynolds had already answered them during her earlier pitches for the job.

So happy new beginnings, it seems. With an early postscript that Taurua’s mentoring offer to the rookie coach has been gratefully accepted.

And if one senses that it might be a good thing to be an outsider in circumstances like these, then Reynolds knows the potential upside of a fresh approach, anywhere.

“Like any new coach, I think you bring new ideas and a revitalised culture,’’ she says.

“The girls are excited for some change and looking always to grow as individuals, so I think a new set of eyes on them as individuals and a new game plan always brings a bit of extra energy into a camp.’’

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The remote stretch of road between Kalbarri and Monkey Mia ends around 800km north of Perth.

With husband Justin at the wheel and sons Taj, Kai and Flynn in the back seat during a school holiday getaway following the Fever’s famous grand final defeat of the Melbourne Vixens, an atypical setting for a job interview hosted stage two of Reynolds’ quest for a Super Netball head coach’s role.

Her second, actually. The first was when a replacement was sought for Diamonds-bound Fever Stacey Marinkovich.

Only for the job to go to Dan Ryan instead, and for Reynolds to wonder whether that might be it.

“Yeah, I did for a moment think, ‘Oh, maybe I am just meant to be an assistant coach’, and I did enjoy being the assistant but the aspiration was always to be a head coach, so when this opportunity came up, I jumped at it,’’ Reynolds says.

A process that started with an approach from Smith moved quickly, with only 13-year-old Kai, a keen junior footballer, reluctant to make the 4500km move across the country to a less AFL-minded state.

And so, as the travelling interview progressed, Kai’s worst fears were being validated by an exchange that the other sons in the car could sense was sounding quite promising.

“There were two that were excited and one who was like, ‘Oh, no, we’re going (to Queensland). She’s doing too well!’’’ Reynolds recalls.

As to what Reynolds — the former state junior defender-turned-midcourter, who was the Fever’s specialist defence coach under Marinkovich and Ryan — brings to the job?

A commitment to slicker ball movement.

Better finishing on the last pass or last shot.

A hard, contested one-on-one style to balance what she says has long been a good area-based proficiency.

Yet it may be off-court where the former decade-long NAB “team leader” has her biggest impact, according to West Coast stalwart Courtney Bruce, whose association dates back to the pair’s time at local club Zodiacs, when the future Diamond was just 12.

“She for me is my absolute idol; she’s such a people person and is very good at building relationships with her players. She’s going to be sorely missed,’’ Bruce told CODE Sports of the coach known fondly as “B”.

“But I’m extremely excited that she finally gets her opportunity because she’s in my opinion very deserving of that role, and I think Perth and Sunshine Coast are quite similar so she’s going to fit in quite well up there.

“Her biggest strength is how well she knows her players off the court and I think because of those relationships that she builds, her ability to give the feedback and really teach you those real specific things, for me as a defender, is what I think helped me take my game to another level.

“And because she has those relationships, feedback never feels like it’s tough or hard because you know it’s coming from a really good place when she delivers it.’’’

Reynolds, similarly, describes her philosophy as “relationship-based and providing absolute role clarity’’ with an emphasis on communication and player buy-in.

One thing that will not be changing, however, is the leadership group, with captain Steph Wood and her joint deputies Tara Hinchliffe and Laura Scherian all continuing in 2023, while Wood’s predecessor, Karla Pretorius, is returning from the birth of baby Kara to play a non-official but still crucial role.

“The beauty about those three is they all have such diverse leadership skills sets which, put together, really complement each other,’’ Reynolds says.

“You’ve got Steph, who really drives those elite standards, and is a real leader on court and stands up in moments that matter, and then you have the energiser bunny in Laura Scherian, who sets the tone with her workrate and has great emotional intelligence and connects with the entire squad.

“But then you’ve got Tara Hinchliffe, one of our younger athletes, who is so wise beyond her years, and she also connects with the players and staff really really well and has such a calm demeanour on court, always looks so in control, so they really do compliment each other and I think they’ll do a fantastic job.’’

Previous captain Pretorius is happy to be a leader without a title, apparently telling Reynolds she prefers not to do any role at less than 100 per cent and is therefore happy to pass the baton at this stage of her (family) life.

“But I noticed as soon as she stepped into our training environment she’s such a natural leader, giving direction to all the young defenders around her, and again that calm demeanour on court is what we’ll look to in tight games.’’

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AFL coaching great Alistair Clarkson this week had to own his “this little moment in your life that you’re connected to the Hawthorn footy club…” faux pas, months after starting with, ahem, North Melbourne.

The Reynolds equivalent was less public.

Looking through the team fixtures for this weekend’s pre-season Team Girls Cup on the Gold Coast, she found herself automatically searching for Fever green rather than Sunny Coast yellow.

Oh, that’s right. Reynolds is with the Lightning now.

Oops.

The new coach describes her list as balanced and talented, with Pretorius a huge (re)addition and Queensland pathway product Charlie Bell recruited as a post-up shooter option to replace unlucky Reilley Batcheldor, whose season ended before it started after an ACL rupture at the national championships in October.

“I was devastated for Reilley,’’ Reynolds says. “The second ACL. Such a huge talent and she had really had a great season in SSN, would impact the games when she was coming on, so it was a huge hole to fill.’’

Bell brings a different dynamic compared with the moving circle provided by Wood and Cara Koenen that has, however, not always worked quite as well at club level as the one above.

So, why is that, given that both essentially confirmed their World Cup selections during an impressive January Quad Series?

Even Reynolds struggles to explain it.

Eventually, she settles for confirming that positions and roles may be switched occasionally during the SSN season, “just keeping their passion and love for the game and growing their skill sets as well, continuing to challenge them in the Lightning environment’.’

It was an unsuccessful season last year, generally, and although Reynolds speaks of the player discontent and disappointment at missing the finals for the first time in the Sunshine Coast’s seven years of life, with just four wins and 10 losses, nor does she believe the 2017-18 champions were too far off the pace.

“We spoke about critical moments in games and making every moment count, and doing that in the training environment to make sure the transition happens on game day,’’ Reynolds says.

“So I think it was basically just resetting culture, getting a positive energy, a real belief back into the group, and then some slight tweaks to the game plan were just the small things that I think will pay dividends this year.’’

Four foundation players — Wood, Pretorius, Scherian and Koenen — remain, and there have been positive signs in the pre-season. So, heading into Friday’s start to the Team Girls Cup, Reynolds does not believe the good ship Lightning will be too hard to turn around.

“I think we’re certainly showing signs of shifting it already,’’ she says. “There is buy-in from the group into the new game plan, there’s a real lift in everyone owning the standards, I think the slight change-up in the list has a refreshed energy, and obviously new coach, new ideas.’’