Netball: Little agreement on competition's standout players

By RICHARD BOOCK

Netball's national league coaches at least agree on one point - their right to disagree.

Asked to nominate one netballer who had impressed them in the league so far, the nine franchise coaches identified a wide range of performers. Only in a couple of cases did they single out the same player.

With just two rounds left in the Coca Cola Cup, the closeness of the competition was reflected in the divergence of views when the coaches were asked to pick a player who was not in their own franchise, and not a Silver Fern team member.

The player did not necessarily have to be in line for international honours, simply someone who had caught their eye.

The only players that there was any degree of agreement over were Auckland Diamonds defender Rachel Rasmussen and Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic defence Jolene Henry, who received two votes apiece.

The 17-year-old Rasmussen, in her second season of the Coca Cola Cup, has raised eyebrows with her development this year.

She received the nod from Force coach Maria Lynch and Magic coach Ruth Aitken, who were surprised by her composure and maturity.

Henry is a shade more experienced at 19, but has switched from the shooting end of the court to the defensive end with surprising ease.

In doing so she has caught the eye of Diamonds coach Georgie Salter and her Shakers counterpart Tanya Deans.

Sting coach Robyn Broughton said the opposition players she invariably referred to in her team-talks were established, influential figures such as Tania Dalton and Linda Vagana.

She said she wondered about the depth in the undergraduate class of New Zealand netball and picked Otago Rebels defender Tara Pate, but only after lengthy consideration.

The Cometz' Tabitha Beaumont considered young Force attack utility Anna Tai, but settled on former Silver Fern and Force mid-courter Sonya Hardcastle as her selection, closely followed by another former Fern, Capital Shakers defender Debbie Matoe

Down south, Rebels and former New Zealand coach Lois Muir singled out the Western Flyers' shoot Daneka Wipiiti.

She said she had also been impressed by the Shakers shoot Jodi Te Huna, who was nominated by Flames coach Leigh Gibbs.

Flyers coach Barbara Clarke was moved by the courage of Rebels attack utility Angelina Yates and, apart from nominating Rasmussen, she also had praise for Magic shoot Julie Kelman-Poto, who she said had proved "a gun shooter" for her side and "had won them quite a few games with her accuracy."

Pick of the courts


Maria Lynch (Force): Rachel Rasmussen. "Rachel's gutsy and gives her all. She's grown so much this year and is a player for the future."

Ruth Aitken (Magic): Rasmussen. "Because of her development and her great composure. She's coming on in leaps and bounds.

Tanya Dearns (Shakers): Jolene Henry. "She's incredibly talented and very versatile. She can play well at both ends of the court and she's a good thinker."

Robyn Broughton (Sting): Tara Pate. "Tara was someone who really stepped up against us. I initially had a question mark over her, but was impressed by her work-rate and consistency."

Leigh Gibbs (Flames): Jodi Te Huna. "I've been impressed by the development and improvement of Jodi. She's certainly stepped up since I saw her last."

Georgie Salter (Diamonds): Henry. "Jolene's been in strong form and has coped with the shift to the defensive end of the court with a minimum of difficulty. She has a good head on her shoulders and seems to adjust well."

Barbara Clarke (Flyers): Angelina Yates. "She's not playing in a winning team, but she's a bright patch in the Otago game and a face for the future. Angelina's a very fluent player and creates space well."

Tabitha Beaumont (Cometz): Sonya Hardcastle. "Sonya's stood out for her flair in the mid-court, and for the brilliant combination she strikes up with Temepara George. She makes feeding into the circle look easy, and believe me it isn't."

Lois Muir (Rebels): Daneka Wipiiti. "She's carrying a lot of responsibility in that side and she's handling it reasonably well. She's stood up to be counted, and she continues to progress."