Australian Julie Hoornweg is pushing Welsh netball players to their physical limits – and then some!

Her work in charge of Celtic Dragons and Wales is already reaping rewards.

Hoornweg is an enthusiastic, passionate coach who is working flat out to ensure her Welsh team are full prepared for the Commonwealth Games next month.

Dragons have an all-Welsh team for their Vitality Netball Superleague campaign and they have won their last two matches, beating Surrey Storm (55-50) and Severn Stars (49-40).

Their next test is against leaders Wasps at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry and Hoornweg says: “I’m loving it.

“I absolutely adore the attitude of our players. They want to learn, they want to improve.

“Sometimes you don’t know what you doin’t know. Players think they are working hard and I push them to the next level. They go ‘Okay’ that’s where we should be’ and I say ‘Hang on there is more to go yet, but don’t worry.’

“They are taking all that on and embracing it. Fantastic.

“The players train beautifully, taking on information, working on skills and intensity.

“We are working on the belief that they can do it. That only comes with hard work.”

Hoornweg and her team are relishing the challenge which will be provided by Wasps this weekend.

“It’s a good test for us,” says Hoornweg. “We are going to play against New Zealand and England in the Commonwealth Games, two of the top countries in the World.”

Former England and Fiji coach Hoornweg has taken over from Trish Willcox, who stepped down in January, and has been appointed in the shirt term. Hoornweg will return to Australia at the end of this season.

“I only tend to do short term type things these days but I just love coaching,” she said.

“I had over six months off so I kind of felt like ‘oh I do enjoy it’ and I knew they have not had some good experiences so I thought ‘someone had shared knowledge with me once and I need to be sharing my knowledge’.

“The stronger we grow around the world in netball the better our game will be. So I hopped on that plane and flew over.”

She spent several successful seasons with Melbourne Vixens, leading the franchise to a league title and two grand finals in Australia and New Zealand’s elite competition.

Hoornweg also worked as the inaugural head coach of new Auckland-based franchise, Northern Stars.

Wasps are top of Superleague after earning seven wins from seven matches and Dragons must be at their best to challenge coach Tamsin Greenway’s team on Sunday (6pm).

This is the final Superleague weekend before a mont-long break for the Commonwealth Games.

“Is it possible to win every game?” says Greenway. “Yes, several of the players here have done it before at other teams, but you never look at it like that.

“Every game comes and it’s all a different challenge. We need pressure games and to be in tough situations before you get to the final four, like we have been.

“For me, I don’t like it, I’ve achieved an unbeaten season before and lost the Grand Final by one goal.

“Sometimes it’s nice to see your weaknesses, it allows you to correct them. We found some against Severn Stars.

“You don’t want to get to the final and then find out those weaknesses.”

Wasps Netball will be without star players Natalie Haythornthwaite and Jade Clarke for the visit of Dragons. The mid-court duo are away with the England Roses squad for the Commonwealth Games, but centre Amy Flanagan is confident other players can step-up.

“We have some absolutely top class players who can step in while Nat and Jade are away, Sophia Candappa is a great player, she is just coming back from injury too,” said Flanagan.

Vitality Netball Superleague fixtures (final weekend of matches before break for Commonwealth Games): 

March

Friday 16: Manchester Thunder v benecosMavericks (7.30pm); UWS Sirens v Severn Stars (7.30pm).

Saturday 17: Loughborough Lightning v Team Bath (6pm); Team Northumbria v Surrey Storm (6pm).

Sunday 18: Wasps v Celtic Dragons (6pm).

Commonwealth Games netball groups:

Pool A: Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, Barbados, Fiji, Northern Ireland.

Pool B: New Zealand, England, 3 Malawi, Wales, Scotland, Uganda.

World netball rankings: 1 Australia; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Jamaica; 5 South Africa; 6 Malawi; 7 Uganda; 8 Northern Ireland; 9 Scotland; 10 Wales; 11 Barbados; 12 Fiji.

Welsh netball squad for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia: Fern Davies, Suzy Drane, Bethan Dyke, Kyra Jones, Nia Jones, Chelsea Lewis, Sarah Llewelyn, Kelly Morgan, Cara Lea Moseley, Georgia Rowe, Leila Thomas, Amanda Varey.

Wales pool matches at the Commonwealth Games: 

April

Friday 6 Wales v New Zealand

Saturday 7 Scotland v Wales

Monday 9 England v Wales

Tuesday 10 Wales v Uganda

Wednesday 11 Malawi v Wales