Disbanded 2007 Head coach Jon Fletcher Founded 2003 | 2007 placing 6th Captain Jane Altschwager Based in Newcastle | |
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Home venue Newcastle Entertainment Centre League Commonwealth Bank Trophy | ||
The Hunter Jaegers were an Australian netball team representing the Hunter Region of New South Wales in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. The team was initially based out of the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, but merged with the Sydney Swifts in 2008 to create the New South Wales Swifts to compete in the ANZ Championship.
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The Jaegers were the last to be added to the Commonwealth Bank Trophy doing so in 2004. The Jaegers were coached by Maria Lynch for the first 2 years then Jon Fletcher, the first male coach in the league's history, and captained by Jane Altschwager. The team colours were aqua, yellow and black. The public support of the team was very impressive for a small city.
History
The Jaegers were created at the end of the 2003 season, when Netball New South Wales decided that the weaker of their two teams, the Sydney Sandpipers, were unsustainable, and that they could not develop a strong enough team in the metropolitan region. After a search for a new location with the state, it was decided to move the second licence to Newcastle and create a Hunter Region team. A competition was held to select the new mascot, which ultimately settled on the endangered jaeger (a linguistic pun, as jaeger is also German for 'hunter').
The Jaegers had a highly promising start to their debut season, winning several early games and surprising many. However, they slipped towards the end of the season, and ultimately finished sixth. The team came very close to making the finals for the first time in 2005, controversially drafting former New Zealand international Daneka Wipiiti for the last two games to supplement an injury-ridden side. However, their loss in the last round to the Melbourne Kestrels saw them slip from fourth place and narrowly lose their place in the finals.
In 2006 the Hunter team ran cold more than hot, and players were inconsistent and at times intimidated. This may in part be due to the absence of Alison Tucker from the defence end. Strangely out of their 3 wins for the year, they knocked off the second placed Adelaide Thunderbirds, and came close to the other top four teams.
While they played some impressive netball at times during the 2007 season, they were, in the end, again unable to proceed to the final series.