Brazill: Other sides thought 'go hard at the Fever and they'll crumble'

In her debut season as head coach, Stacey Rosman turned Australia's underperforming ANZ Championship side into giant killers.

Coming off the back of another poor season, finishing 9th in 2014, the Fever farewelled former Australia Diamonds coach Norma Plummer and gave the head coaching reins to former assistant coach Rosman.

It proved to be their best move.

The Fever turned their game around, producing their best season in club history and finishing the competition third on the combined table.

They continued in the same vein early in 2016, winning their opening three matches before going down to last year's grand finalists the NSW Swifts.

Creating clear roles for her side and an accountability between teammates, Rosman was able to turn the Fever into one of Australia's best sides.

"I think I probably I came in with some real clarity and direction for the girls," Rosman told ESPN. "By having that clear message they were then able to embrace, build and drive what we wanted to be about; particularly around our culture and how we wanted to train and how we wanted to play a Fever way."

And that facilitated an almost-complete 180 in just one season.

"It was really clear that they had real role clarity, and with having that clarity then you can have accountability and when you have that connection with each other and hold each other accountable then you can continue to grow together," Rosman said.

"It wasn't performances that were reliant on one particular individual; it was real team cohesion in the way that we were able to play. I think it was having that clarity and them buying in and empowering them to drive that ... was probably the thing they thrived on most."

"I was quite open and honest with them when I first came in and said, 'you know we're going into the new sort of era where I'll make mistakes in my first year as will you guys, but it's how we adapt and reflect and continue to build', and I think it was knowing we were going to make mistakes, and it was how we worked together to keep going forward [that helped the process of change]. We had a little bit of success but we're still striving for that ultimate one."

"But actually when we sat down and we thought, well actually other teams have been saying 'go hard at the Fever and they'll crumble'" Ashleigh Brazill

The Fever secured their best start to an ANZ Championship season, winning nine of their opening 10 games and securing a draw with long-time rivals the Swifts, to display the change in culture and character within the team.

"There was a big focus on our team," Fever captain Ashleigh Brazill told ESPN. "When I was named captain and Caitlin [Bassett] vice-captain, we sat down and discussed changing our culture and where we wanted to go. A big thing was having open conversations and being honest with each other. Our first conversation was about how other teams looked at us. I think in previous years we would have said other teams think we are aggressive, we go hard for the ball and we're talented athletes; you know all this positive stuff.

"But actually when we sat down and we thought, well actually other teams have been saying 'go hard at the Fever and they'll crumble'. Just having those honest conversations - yeah, they hurt -- but that really brought the team together because we didn't want to be known as that.

"We wrote down what we want to be seen as and we've done a 360 on that and changed that around, and Stacey's been a huge driver of that. She's made sure we've stuck to our values and made sure we've stayed as 12 and not individuals."

One change to the culture that was reflected throughout their season, pushing them to their first finals berth, was Rosman's mantra of 'Fever First'.

"We have a few words that we stick by, but Stacey's mantra is 'Fever First' -- it's just being able to put the team first before anything else," Brazill said. "That could be anything, like going to bed early for some players, while for other players it's better for them to eat different things. It's just making sure that whatever you do is making you the best player than you can be.

"At training it's about having no excuses, following the game plan, being adaptable; and she's really done that. When we do talk about Fever first it's about being that family, because a lot of us are from over east so the only people we really have over here are the girls and before we didn't really identify that as much, but it's now a very known thing that we're there for each other on the court or off the court."

Rosman, a former player and captain of the Fever, has been a part of the club since its inception in 2008, and before that its WA predecessor, the Perth Orioles. Captain and coach both believe this connection with the club and players is beneficial but also Brazil.

"Yeah, definitely, Stac wasn't just a player she was a captain," Brazill told ESPN. "So to have someone to go through that, you know the club means a lot to her and we know that it means a lot for us and what we put our bodies through. Stacey's been there and actually understands what we're going through, not just as a coach, but as a player as well and I think that's really important for this group that we know that she has been there, that she has put her body on the line."