Wairarapa player gets Shakers nod

Wairarapa College seventh former Rosie Mahoney is just one step away from making the Wellington-based Capital Shakers national league netball team for next season.
Mahoney, 19, is one of 16 players named in what is being termed a Shakers preliminary squad, a squad which will be reduced to 12 players for the league campaign early in the New Year.
A member of the Shakes development squad last season, Mahoney impressed with a series of outstanding displays for them and she pushed her case for national league selection even further when she starred at trials staged by the Shakers in Wellington a little less than a fortnight ago.
Mahoney was one of the most consistent defenders at those trials and admits to being "pretty hopeful" of being named in the preliminary squad after her performances there.
"I was pleased with the way the trials went?.I probably did as well as I could have hoped for," Mahoney said. "But you can never be sure what selectors are thinking, so I was more hopeful than confident of making it."
Her ability to get off the ground from a standing position is a strength of Mahoney's and she was pleasantly surprised to find during such tests that she had actually the biggest standing jump of all Shakers trialists
Mahoney was also pleased with her response to the pace of the trials which was greater than she had experience in any other level of netball.
She said she had struggled a little in that regard when practising against the Shakers netball league side last season, but some hard work to improve her fitness had paid off.
Maintaining that level of fitness will be a priority for Mahoney over the summer months.
Tendonitis in the knees means that Mahoney won't be doing a great deal of road running, but she intends to cover the kilometres on her bike and work out at the gym at least twice a week
"Keeping the fitness up is very important now?.I can't afford to slacken off in that respect," she said.
Mahoney is "very excited" at the prospect of having Wai Taimanu as her Shakers coach, describing the former Silver Fern player and England coach as being "just awesome".
Her selection in the Shakes preliminary squad also means Mahoney will be leaving Wairarapa netball on a high note.
She was a member of the Wairarapa College side which won the Wairarapa premier one title this season, but finishes her education there this year and will head to Victoria University in 2006. She will play for PIC in the Wellington premier interclub series.
Interestingly enough Mahoney had also experienced success in the Wairarapa premier one competition in 2004, the only difference being she was part of the successful St Matthew's side on that occasion.