IN Netball Australia’s night of nights it was NSW Swifts coach Briony Akle that walked away with the Joyce Brown Coach of the Year award thanks to her excellent leadership throughout 2019 guiding her side to premiership glory.

Akle was humbled by the award, paying tribute to the staff behind the scenes at the Swifts and in particular, her assistant coach in Anita Keelan.

“I think this one is a bit different obviously standing up here and getting this award, for me we have created a really wonderful team at the Swifts,” Akle said. “It probably goes back to my performance team as well and Anita Keelan has been by my side and has been amazing. “Yes I love this award but I think it also goes to my team.”

After taking the helm in 2018 Akle built her side up with a combination of international stars and young up-and-coming Australian talent. Season 2019 was no easy feat for the developing coach, faced with a host of key players forced to the sideline. Captain, Maddy Proud tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) midway through the season while Kate Eddy suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Star goal attack Helen Housby also missed a large chunk of time after the World Cup with a soft tissue injury while Roses teammate Natalie Haythornthwaite did not take the court for the first half of the season meaning Akle had to rely on her next tier of players to stand up and steer the Swifts. The likes of young guns Sophie Garbin took control in Housby’s absence with Tayla Fraser and Sophie Halpin running rampant in wing attack to fill the void left by Proud. Credit where credit is due, Akle also brought in the big guns to bolster her undermanned line-up with Katrina Rore joining the squad fresh off a gold medal win at the World Cup along with a premiership in the ANZ Premiership with the Central Pulse.

Renowned for their vintage and clinical style of netball, the Swifts were hard to stop credit to their slick ball movement and lack of turnovers making them hard to score against. Akle’s game style allowed each player on court to have an influence and incorporate their own flair into the game while maintaining the Swifts’ signature style.

“For me the main thing is keeping things basic and keeping it real at the end of the day,” Akle said. “As a few people said tonight we have played this game since we were little and for me it’s probably about remembering it and enjoying it.”

Under her reign Sarah Klau also developed making her Diamonds debut along with partner in crime Maddy Turner who pulled on the green and gold in the recent Constellation Cup series, adding further accolades to her growing coaching portfolio.

With a premiership under their belt and a relatively unchanged line-up heading into 2020 the Swifts will be looking to build and go on to bigger and better things with Akle acknowledging the world class talent Suncorp Super Netball has to offer but also backing her side’s dedication and commitment.

“Yeah it’s a tough competition, week in week out you play against the world’s best and it’s keeping that challenge going for the girls and turn up every day,” she said.