By Jamie Thomas
From designing jerseys to spearheading the Oaklands offence and much more in between, there’s not much Lizzy Harrison hasn’t done on and off the court for the Wolves during her time with the club, and it is very sad for us to write that Lizzy’s playing days for Oaklands could be near their end.
We say ‘could’ because Harrison can’t keep away from the club that has given her as much as she’s given it over the last few years, but in our recent interview with the star guard she insists this is the home stretch for her Oaklands career, as she looked ahead to the remainder of the year.
“I came into this year knowing that this is going to be my last season so I wanted to enjoy it and give everything I can to the younger players and have a really fun season. It has been awesome, I’ve been really happy with my performances, and we’ve all just had each other’s backs.
“Everybody always jokes with me that I say it is going to be my last season every year, then I end up suiting up come September, but I really do have some other goals and other dreams to take hold of, so I think this’ll be the last one for me.
“I’m so proud of the journey that the Oaklands organisation has been on, to see it grow and develop and some of the players that have been brought in over the years is unbelievable. I’ve had an incredible journey here which has been so much fun. There’ve been so many moments that I’ll remember for a long, long time.”
“All we’ve wanted to do is be competitive.”
With big games coming up this weekend against Durham Palatinates and Gloucester City Queens, it is a crucial couple of days coming up for the Wolves if they are to achieve a playoff berth, who arguably need a faultless run of form until the end of the season to reach the post-season.
Whilst not denying that playoffs are an aim for every team at the start of the season, Harrison echoes the sentiments of her Player-Head Coach and friend Lauren Milligan from when we spoke to her earlier in the season, outlining that the Wolves’ aims this year are different to the norm.
“The next stretch of games is critical in any run we might make for the playoffs, but in terms of our goals for the season we have been more focussed on developing the young girls on the team and building their confidence and ability as much as we could.
“We want our last game of the season to be our best game of the season, both on an individual level and as a collective, and making the playoffs would just be a massive bonus if we’re honest. We’re focussed on ourselves, our own goals, but we’re confidence in what we can do.
“All we’ve wanted to do is be competitive throughout the year and aside from against the top three or four teams who are on another level, we’ve done a good job at that in most games.”
“They’ve just been utterly fearless and it has been so fun.”
With an extremely young roster, the Wolves have rightly been applauded throughout the season for the opportunities they’ve continued to offer their best and brightest academy prospects to test their wits and skills against the WBBL’s top talent.
Detailing the qualities these young players have, Harrison discussed her pride at the effort these young players have committed to the cause every time they’ve stepped on the court throughout the year.
“We have to get that culture right in practice and teach these players how to practice in the right way to prepare them for games on the weekend, but they’ve honestly all been absolutely amazing and grabbed their opportunities with both hands.
“From the first game of the Championship season where we got that win in Newcastle, they’ve just been utterly fearless and it has been so fun to watch them grow. The success they’ve had in the Academy League (WEABL) shows how much they’ve benefitted from that experience as well.
“As a group of senior players, we’ve done our best to support them in stepping up to play at this level because it can be daunting as a 16-year-old to come up and play 30-year-old women, for example, but they’ve done so well and we’re really proud of them and how they’ve improved.”
“They have really, really bright futures.”
Harrison has been the key contributor on the offensive end of the floor for Oaklands this year, but each of the young players on the roster have had their own moments of excellence throughout the season, too, with the Wolves stalwart discussing what she sees as the potential for these youngsters.
“I think we have been pleasantly surprised, to be honest, at just how well they have taken to it. These players just know what they’re good at and try to do it all the time as consistently well as they can.
“The whole group have had their own individual moments where they’ve shone and stepped up, and they obviously need to build their consistency in that sense – that’s a constant thing that we all have to do – but they have really, really bright futures and it has been fun to see.
“We came into this season knowing that we had to take responsibility for helping to develop this group of players, and I myself knew I’d have more responsibility for delivering on the offensive end of the floor as well.”