Thomson thrilled with Thunder's height, versatility as anticipation builds

Thomson will coach alongside Jodie Hayes for the second consecutive season.

"She's [Hayes] is great to work with; we pretty much always share the same opinion, and we think the same way," Thomson said.

In 2024, the number of players increased due to the merger between the Southern Mallee Giants and Jeparit Rainbow.

On the club's first night of training in February, about 27 players took to the court to prepare for its first WFNL season.

"It was just amazing. So many different new faces; we've done a lot of work introducing key people like coaches and all the people behind the scenes and trying to get everyone to know each other," she said.

This anticipation has also flowed into the juniors.

"Everyone that you talk to around the club is really excited. Just thrilled for the young ones to be able to play in a team with people their age."

On the court, the Thunder welcomed Sydney Thorogood (Nhill), Connie Rule (Western Districts, Kangaroo Island), and Caitlin Douglas (Irymple, Sunraysia) in the off-season.

While Abby White and MacKenzie Bellinger are also returning to the Mallee.

"We've gone from having set positions to now going we've got options and asking ourselves what's our key starting seven for the first game," Thomson said.

This became apparent when Southern Mallee faced Pimpinio in a practice match on Saturday, March 23.

"We had a good run with them. We were both really competitive teams. We knew the foundation side of things, and then we were able to increase on that," she said.

The Thunder then had an intra-club hit-out on Thursday, April 4, as they finalised preparations for Warrack on Saturday, April 20.

"We were able to read where each other was on the court. There were a few errors and things like that, but just the attitude from the girls; everyone's really keen to start and play good netball."