The one word the Jaguar netball captain Izette Griesel would go to great lengths never to use in any sentence is losing. 

That is why she is considered to be one of South Africa's best players at the moment. Her biggest asset is her no-nonsense approach. She seems to flourish when things heat up on the court. The 28-year old laughs when asked about it. 

"I don't like admitting to it, but I am a terrible loser. That is why I am prepared to go to great lengths during any game to ensure the team I play for wins," said the former Tuks player.

The Telkom Netball League will take place at the Mangaung Indoor Sports Complex in Bloemfontein from 14-27 October. All the twelve participating teams will enter the bio bubble on Thursday.  

The Jaguars was victorious for the last three years. Griesel played her part to ensure two of the tournament wins. Last year she did not play for the Jaguars as year as she was part of the Smiley-squad (Proteas). 

Griesel admits that she and her teammates will have their work cut out if they want to defend the title. In the past, the tournament was played over a few weekends. Now it is only 14 days. It could mean playing up to 12 games. 

"Our most significant advantage as a team is to have Jenny van Dyk (Tuks) as our coach. She does not believe in leaving anything to chance. During the whole of the hard lockdown, she found ways to ensure that we kept on training. 

"Admittedly, being fit does not mean we are match fit. I can vouch for it that it had been difficult honing one's skills on a small lawn at the back of the house. But I guess the same goes for every other team. So it is going to be a level playing field when the tournament starts."

The former Tuks player has a simple approach when it comes to captaining.

"I prefer to lead by example. By doing so, I hope to inspire my teammates.”

Again Griesel is honest. 

"I hate personal confrontation. I tend to shy away from it, but I guess being relatively older than most of my teammates would give me the right to say my say when things don't go according to plan," explains Griesel who represented the Proteas in 57 tests. It includes two World Cup Tournaments. 

The last few weeks in the build-up to the tournament had been hectic. Griesel is a teacher at Laerskool Lynnwood it means the clock is her relentless taskmaster. The past Friday, she was still in her classroom after two, assessing her learner's work. At three o'clock, Griesel had to be at the Jaguars' training session at Tuks. She did not expect to see her husband before six.  

But she is not complaining. Netball is her passion which means there are games to be won.