The Perth Steel have finished the regular season of the 2024 Mahindra Australian Volleyball Super League on top of the ladder of both the men’s and women’s competitions.
The defending champions of both AVSL Men and AVSL Women will be in semi-final action in Adelaide on Saturday when the Steel Men take on Melbourne Vipers in the first semi-final match of the day, meanwhile the Steel Women will face their 2023 Grand Final opponents in the Queensland Pirates.
Raring To Go: Perth Steel AVSL representatives from Reds joined with Reds officials, Will Dundas and Dani Francis.
Reds State League Men Captain and Steel Middle-Blocker, Jordan Fancote, is hoping his side can turn around the Round 3 loss on the road to the Vipers.
“We’re certainly looking forward to the challenge of playing Melbourne again. The loss to them earlier in the season certainly gave us an opportunity to learn, reassess and improve some areas of our game which we’re looking forward to implementing this Saturday in Adelaide. Our goal is clear: to go back to back and bring another Gold Medal home to WA,” Fancote said.
Steel Men setter Ryan Slater returned to the Steel following a stint with the Australian Volleyroos in South Korea and China and is ready to hit the court in Adelaide.
“The season has been a battle for our squad with consistency. It’s been challenging, but a great journey for the boys to improve together. I think we are in a good place now, hungry as ever to play a finals series to highlight how far we have come as a team,” Slater said.
Amelie Warburton, who joins Reds teammate and youngest Steel player, Jolie Du Plessis, in the Steel Women squad, was excited to be back involved with the Steel this season following an ankle injury during the 2024 WAVL season.
“Coming back from an ankle reconstruction was quite hard on my body. The girls and coaches were really great at understanding the rehab process meaning I could slowly ease back into the training sessions relatively smoothly,” Warburton said.
“The team has had a great season so far this year, finishing the regular season on top of the ladder. We’ve had a lot of conversations about the level of intensity we want to bring to the competition, and this has definitely reflected in our training sessions,” Warburton added.
It won’t just be Reds State League athletes taking to the court over the weekend, with Reds members Dani Francis and Will Dundas heading to Adelaide to serve as officials for the finals. Dundas and Francis were both excited to be back involved officiating on the national stage.
“I am looking forward to catching up with old friends and making new friends. It is a great opportunity be involved, watch the teams play and to keep my skill set current,” Francis said.
“It is a unique opportunity to see the best teams fight it out for the title, whilst learning from the some of the top referees in the country,” Dundas said.
Adelaide 36ers Arena will play host to the semi-final matches on Saturday as well as the gold and bronze medal matches on Sunday.
2024 AVSL Semi-Finals: Broadcast Information
Perth Steel Men v Melbourne Vipers Men: 10:30am AWST
Perth Steel Women v Queensland Vipers Women: 2pm AWST