The rise of Tango Netball Club has certainly been a talking point of the 2020 Premier League season.
After finishing the 2019 season on 14 points with seven wins and seven losses, the girls in pink have made a statement in 2020, finishing with 22 points at 11 wins and three losses.
At the close of the minor rounds, Tango sat just two points behind reigning premiers Matrics Netball Club on 24 and four points behind minor premiers Contax Netball Club on 26.
In Round 12, Tango raised eyebrows further with an upset win over the reigning premiers by six goals.
With the two sides set to meet again in this Friday night’s preliminary final, a win for Tango would end the long-standing cycle of a Contax-Matrics Grand Final.
With momentum on their side, captain Jess Paradiso has full belief in her team’s ability to proceed to the big dance.
The former Adelaide Thunderbird returned to state league netball this season after a six-year break, during which she welcomed her son Jacob and twin daughters Isabella and Evie.
While the balance has presented its challenges, the goal attack has relished her time back on court.
“I’ve come back with a totally different mindset,” Jess said.
“It’s me time and I’ve enjoyed being able to go to training or games and having something for myself.
“I played with Sarah Raper six seasons ago, but most of the girls I haven’t met before. They have been really welcoming and there are always lots of laughs.”
Critical to Tango’s success has been Jess’s shooting partnership with Kelsey Williams.
“Starting a new partnership with someone always presents its challenges but we complement each other quite nicely,” Jess said.
“We have a great friendship so if things don’t work out, we can laugh it off and can talk through things easily. She is a very open book, as am I, so it makes the communication so much easier.
“The game feels a lot faster, but we have such a speedy midcourt who bring the ball down really well and it has all been coming together really nicely.”
Having won their most recent encounter, Jessica and her Tango teammates are confident going into the prelim.
“I’m a glass half full kind of person so I had high expectations at the start of the season that if we could pull it together, we could make it,” Jess said.
“During the season, we had a few lulls but once we had that sorted and lifted our belief, we could lift our standard across the board. Work on something at training and see the results on court.”
“We play quite a nice fast game so I think a combo of making the most of that while making the right choices under pressure.
“Matrics’ defenders do a lot of work in attack, so that sits with us attackers to put on defensive pressure across the court.
“We have a lot of self-belief going into this game, but we need to get out there and show people that we can do it.”
Tango will play Matrics in the preliminary final this Friday, September 25 at 8:45pm at Priceline Stadium.
