PERRY Lakes Hawks Women's SBL coach CJ Jackson has worked hard the last couple of years to build up a young group that the additions of Deanna Smith and Antonia Edmondson could be the icing on the cake as he looks for his team to secure fourth position.

The Lady Hawks won five of their last seven matches leading into the bye last week which sees them currently hold a 12-7 record which is two games out of third but also two games ahead of the fifth placed Mandurah Magic.

Jackson is now in his fourth season in charge at Perry Lakes using the last three years to develop a core group that still includes Kate Anthony, Lauren Jeffers, Sarah Donovan, Emily Burton, Annika Renkema and Emma Clarke who he has backed in to form the backbone of the team.

Veterans lead Lady Hawks to crucial win over youthful Slammers

Then in the off-season when the chance came up to add two of the best players still in the league, Smith off a player-coach role at the Cockburn Cougars and Edmondson from the Joondalup Wolves, Jackson had every reason to expect his team to be able to match the Flames, Wolves and Tigers.

Things have come together impressively for the Hawks now over the last six games with Smith on fire averaging 22.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in that time and now Edmondson returning from New Zealand duties the past three matches.

The Hawks look solid in fourth position and now finish the season against the Cockburn Cougars this Friday at Wally Hagan Stadium, and then against both the Rockingham Flames and Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Bendat Basketball Centre the final two weekends.

Jackson is happy with how his team has come together but would like to enter the playoffs with the knowledge the Hawks can take it right up to the top teams and that's where next week's clash with the Flames will be crucial as they gear up for the post-season.

"I think that will be a really good gauge for our confidence levels to see how we perform and especially if we have to take them on in a three-game series so we know where we stand. If we can show that we are within striking range, then we will give ourselves a chance come playoff time," Jackson said.

"I realised over the last couple of weeks that we had a good chance to secure fourth. Those top three teams are some great teams and I don’t foresee them losing six games for the year like we have. For us to lock in that fourth spot gives us a good chance going into the playoffs whoever we play in fifth spot, so that will be great."

Jackson felt the Hawks' bye last weekend came at the right time to gear up for the final three weeks of the regular season and then the playoffs on the back of a strong win over the South West Slammers two days after losing on the road to the Stirling Senators.

"I think for us to have a break last weekend is a good thing for us. I would have liked to have won both games going into it, but it just didn’t work out, but for us to win one of them and lock ourselves into fourth was important," he said.

"One thing I've noticed about the bye is that it can actually affect your standing in the league because other teams can leapfrog you without you doing anything. So we took the week off to get some niggling injuries taken care of and to get the bodies right."

Adding a star player who was a coach just last year in the league might be intimidating for some people, but Jackson is no ordinary coach and there's no intimidating him.

Combining that with his history with Smith and Jackson never doubted it was a combination that could work and she is still able to use her experience and coaching ability out on the floor, while he takes care of things on the sidelines.

"The thing about Doccy and myself is that we have been working together at Sports Challenge, which is a mentoring program so we've always clicked as far as a working relationship is concerned," he said.

"We talked it out before the season about how we were going to play, and she was all on board with it. What she adds is that with the coaching she's done, she is a coach on the court so I don’t need to do much of that. We have an off-court coaching staff and then an on-court coach who can deliver the messages out on the floor. It means so much more that everyone has brought into that."

While Smith and Edmondson have made a marked difference for the Lady Hawks in 2016, Jackson is fully aware it's the group including Donovan, Jeffers, Anthony, Clarke, Burton, Renkema and Brieana Nolan that is the real key to Perry Lakes depth and competitiveness.

And as the Hawks try to continue to play an up-tempo style of game, Jackson is relying on those young and emerging players to lead the way.

"The thing for us is that those girls who we developed are not young puppies anymore, they are now part of the puzzle for us to do well," Jackson said.

"If you have played anywhere from 75 or over games now, you are expected to hold yourself high within our team because one of the things we do where at Perry Lakes is engage the young girls who I think can play.

"I get them to come and train and play so that when they get a chance, they are ready for it. We have had Emma Clarke, Mia Satie and Tal (Talietha Valentine) who have been young players but we gave them a chance and now they are at a point now that they have to come with it. There's no excuses now.

"One of the benefits of our team is that we have a lot of girls who can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, but I still think our key to it is that the team that moves the ball on quick is hard to be defended. We are trying to really execute that aspect of the game."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix Photography