Can the Jaguars be stopped? This will be the big question from Sunday when the first leg of the 2021 Telkom Netball League is played at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria. 

Since the inception of the National Netball League eight years ago, the Jaguars contested each final. They are the champions in the last four years successively. The Crinums of Free State is the only other team to have won the league. They were victorious on three occasions.

Jenny van Dyk, Head of Programme & Head Coach at TuksNetball, who is the head coach of Jaguars, says she is not obsessed with statistics.

"Naturally, I want the teams I coach to win every time they play. But it would be unrealistic, actually impossible, to think that any team will win all the time. It does not work like that in sport. Therefore I am grateful for each victory. It proves that the players and I are doing something right." 

Consistency is the key to the Jaguars success says van Dyk.

"The aim of any team should be to set a high standard at all times. You can't do that if the results keep on seesawing-good and then bad. So I expect every player to give 100%. It is what it takes to be a champion over a long period."

Another reason for the Jaguars dominance is van Dyk's quest that the team should be better tomorrow than they are today. That is why she is a forever student of the game, planning unique strategies. But according to her, she is not the one doing all the thinking.

"I want the players to buy into what plays out on the court. So I expect them to make suggestions as well. They are, after all, the ones playing. At times they come up with brilliant ideas." 

According to van Dyk, this Jaguars team is not quite experienced as the previous Jaguar teams.

"We are kinda off in a building phase. It is not as if it is a young team. Some of the players have been playing for a few years. They, however, did not get that much game time during previous tournaments. 

"It brings new challenges to me as a coach. I got used to saying one or two words in the past. The players immediately knew what to do. During the Varsity Netball tournament, I had to be more precise in telling the players what was expected. 

"It was exciting to see how quickly the player's on-court savviness improved, leading to them playing with more confidence. That is why we managed to finish third in the Varsity Netball tournament." 

The core of the Tuks team will be playing for the Jaguars. There are also players from six other universities in the team. Marlize de Bruin of TuksNetball is the captain.

On Sunday at 18:30, the Jaguars will play against the Stings; Monday against the Stars (15:00); Tuesday the Fireballs (14:00); Wednesday the Flames (08:00); Friday the Crinums (11:00) and Sunday the Flames (18:00).

The Telkom Netball League will be played over two legs split between Pretoria from 5-12 September and Rustenburg (9-17 October).