Hoops on hold as Tigers star sets sights on finalsSarah Black
womens.afl
5 August 2022THE CHANGE in AFLW season timing means Richmond star Monique Conti will temporarily shelve her basketball plans, but she's not putting away the hoops for good.
Conti has previously juggled her commitments in either the WNBL or NBL1 with football, but last pre-season chose to focus purely on AFLW.
Earlier this year, teammate Tessa Lavey played in both the AFLW and WNBL concurrently, missing a few games for each competition as she played in the other.
"Not at the moment, I had to stop that because of our season getting pushed forward and it meant I couldn't finish the NBL1 season (with Casey, where she also wears the No.4)," Conti told womens.afl.
"That's all good, I might pick up basketball again after the footy season, we'll have to wait and see."
Richmond finished 11th on the season six ladder with three wins and seven losses, but its percentage of 81.3 was ninth overall, and the Tigers scored more than sixth-placed Collingwood.
"We're aiming to win as many games as we can, but we want to play finals," Conti said.
"We don't want to be the team that's just competing anymore, we want to be a team that really wins, and people are afraid to come out and play us every week. So, I think next for us is heading for finals and seeing what we can do from there.
"Sarah Hosking's pre-season has been really good, she's going to have a really good season. We've got a few new girls, like (former GWS defender) Libby Graham, I think she's going to be a really good addition, she's awesome, and then just the usuals.
"Courtney Wakefield is amazing, I just think she's one of the best forwards in the competition. Hopefully she stays injury-free all season, but she's going to be great, can't wait to see her out there."
Conti and Lavey aren't the only basketballers on Richmond's list, with the Tigers signing WNBL player Saraid Taylor as a rookie.
She is earmarked as a long-term prospect given her commitments with Southside Flyers, with the Tigers hoping to develop her into a key defender.
"She's awesome, we love a good basketballer coming into footy," Conti said.
"She's a really good athlete. I haven't seen her do much yet because of her basketball commitments, but she can run, she can jump, she's got good ball skills, so she'll be good excitement for the club, whether that's this season or next."
Richmond is set to take on Fremantle this weekend in match simulation, with its official practice match to come against Hawthorn at the MCG.
The Tigers are also yet to name a replacement player for Charley Ryan, who was drafted with a torn ACL, wanting to wait until after their practice matches. They have until August 23 to make the decision.
https://www.womens.afl/news/96504/hoops-on-hold-as-tigers-star-sets-sights-on-finals
