Steel recruit duo for Stars showdown

7 June, 2024

Injuries woes have resulted in the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel again seeking replacement players for tomorrow’s ANZ Premiership showdown with the Stars in Auckland.

Head coach Reinga Bloxham has recruited Stars training partner Summer Temu in the shooting ranks for Jennifer O’Connell while Charlotte Lourey will provide midcourt cover for Ivari Christie.

“Charlotte is local and has trained with us. She plays for the Southern Blast and is on our pathway so it is awesome to see her given this opportunity to be involved at the elite level,” Bloxham said.

“For Summer, it will be a rapid meet and greet when we arrive in Auckland before she joins us on court. It’s a great opportunity for her to experience another team and she has shown previously she can compete in ANZ Premiership.”

The injury count has stacked up for Steel during the 2024 campaign but Bloxham was confident the players remained determined to overcome the hurdles.

“We have been thrown some challenges with injuries, which you always know can happen, but it has been tough. However, I do feel the players are resilient and keep training hard, aiming to improve and ultimately want to win,” she said.

With the Steel and the Stars sitting fifth and sixth respectively in the league standings on equal points, the Round 9 encounter has more than bragging rights at stake as both teams fight to avoid the proverbial wooden spoon.

Last time, the Steel edged to victory 63-61 in extra time.

“This game will be tough. The Stars may not have won but they have gone close in all of their games. They'll be hungry to get a win and we are wanting to make sure we have a much stronger performance than last week. I'm expecting it to be rightly contested again, just like the last time we met,” Bloxham said.