London Mavericks head coach Camilla Buchanan believes breaking free from the shackles of the past has helped her side reach this season’s play-offs.
The franchise finished in the top four for the first time since 2016 and Buchanan feels the fresh rebrand under new ownership has meant her squad have not felt the unwanted hand of history on their shoulders this term.
Mavericks had finished fifth in five of the last six completed seasons, with the franchise becoming the perennial nearly side to many, but Buchanan insists her youthful squad had no time to be burdened by what went before them en route to securing an historic fourth-place finish this term.
“It has been a completely new journey,” she said. "While it is still Mavericks, it has felt completely brand new at times. I don’t think this group feels the weight of what was.
“That reflects in the nature of the squad; we are a really young squad that is still building.
“It is an achievement, but it is just the first step, and we don’t want to stop there. You have to take stock of the small wins, but by no means are we done.”
The new ownership and rebrand has gone beyond just a shiny new name, logo, and colour scheme for the two-time Netball Super League champions.
Buchanan’s side have been well-backed in their pursuit of the play-offs, with a wide-ranging support staff complementing the work of Buchanan, Mikki Austin, and Tamsin Greenway.
That also extends beyond training sessions, which now almost exclusively take place during the day and end with group meals.
“Eating together after training is one of the highlights of the day,” added Buchanan.
“It is all integrated with the back office staff, everyone is sitting and enjoying food together.
“It sounds like a Brady Bunch moment, but it really matters. You can see that in the squad this year, they are a really tight knit group – one of the tightest groups I’ve ever been involved with.
“The players are really well looked after, and I think that shows in what they give back to the club.
“The one per cents all count towards being the best and that’s something the owners feel strongly about. We want them to have the best of the best.”
Investment off the court has translated into an uptick in results on it, with Mavericks winning eight of their 14 matches to finish three points ahead of Nottingham Forest Netball to secure the final play-off spot.
All six of their defeats have come to the three sides who finished above them, London Pulse, Loughborough Lightning, and Friday’s minor semi-final opponents Manchester Thunder.
It is a fact Buchanan is more than aware of but is keen to stress that this season is only the start for her squad.
“Win, lose, or draw, we talk every week about what we are building in our camp,” she said.
“It is scary where this group can be in a few years’ time; we will get to a point where it all connects at the right time and it will be magic.”
The here and now, however, is a winner-takes-all minor semi-final away at Manchester Thunder on Friday night.
The prize is the right to fight another day, against either London Pulse or Loughborough Lightning next Sunday in the Preliminary Final, with the winner of that reaching the Grand Final.
“Being the underdog is always a nice position to be in, the pressure and expectation is probably more likely to be on Manchester Thunder,” said Buchanan.
“We look at that as an opportunity. I can’t say there is no pressure on us, this team wants to win and they want to progress to the next stage. They know a lot of things have to go right for that to happen.
“Everyone wants to be there, being from London the O2 is iconic so to be on the main stage and perform with home supporters being able to get there at the drop of a hat is huge and something the players will relish.”
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