A year off the Farrer League will do little to diminish rivalries and ambitions on the netball court according to newly-reappointed Charles Sturt University coach Kirsty Lowe.
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The Bushsows leader said the season-in-recess has done nothing to ease the pain of successive grand final defeats to The Rock-Yerong Creek and she had no hesitation about signing on for a fourth year as coach.
"Absolutely, I think the girls and I have got a bit of unfinished business to do," Lowe said.
"This year we were excited to (try to) get to that grand final again and take it, after losing the two previous years.
"So I feel like it's just incomplete. We still have work to do and want to get that premiership. It's keeping me going."
Lowe conceded it's too early to gauge which players will be around given the uncertainty around courses and accommodation.
"We rely on some first years to come and put their hands up to play and we don't know if we'll have that. It's just wait and see," Lowe said.
She loves the university club's culture.
"The good thing is it's not just uni students. A lot of girls have stayed on after their uni has finished and they're working now. So it's a good combination of older players and the younger group coming together. There's no separation, it's very tight, a bit like a family atmosphere," she said.
The absence of the Farrer League has taken some getting used to but Lowe said CSU has remained focussed on team spirit.
"It's been disappointing. That's what your Saturdays are - getting together as a club, going to watch all the games, having that social side of it. But we're still getting together," Lowe said.
"We've still been training all along and doing a bit with the boys - some boxing, AFL nines, mixed netball. Everyone's been interested and keen to keep going.
"People have definitely missed it. I don't think even this (year off) could take away some of those rivalries that have been around for years and will be for years to come. They're what makes it great, those challenging games and the excitement coming up to those."
Lowe has also been getting her netball fix playing for New Kids Attack in the Wagga A grade competition on Wednesday nights.
"I've been coaching the younger New Kids team which has been exciting, there's lots of talent in that and it's been good to still coach as well," she said.
The Bushpigs hope to announce a replacement for football coach Pat Noonan, who stepped down after two-and-a-half years at CSU, later this month.