Netball: The courts are now in session

By JULIE ASH

Netball is back under the spotlight as the seventh edition of the National Bank Cup kicks off tomorrow. A slimmed-down, eight-team format promises a tough battle for semifinal spots.

AUCKLAND DIAMONDS (last year: 5)

Auckland Diamonds coach Joan Hodson is hoping this will be the year her side win the dogfight and slide into a semifinal spot.

In the past few years the race for the last semifinal spot has gone down to the wire.

However, the Diamonds haven't exactly been the leaders of the pack, having failed to secure a top-four finish since 1999.

This year you can pretty much pencil in the Sting, Force and Magic already, but once again that final semifinal spot could go to either the Flames, Diamonds or maybe even the Shakers.

"It is a real dogfight to get into that top four, especially to get that fourth position. That is something that the rest of us will be clowning around for," Hodson said.

The Diamonds finished fifth last year. Returning to the side are Silver Ferns captain Anna Rowberry, Kiri Adams, Bridgette Tapene, Victoria Edward, Loren Eagle, Krystal Feterika-Opetaia and Arahi Wall.

The Diamonds hit the jackpot in securing former Australian captain Kathryn Harby-Williams, who will be joined in defence by former Force international Lorna Suafoa.

Hodson said Harby-Williams has brought a tremendous amount to the team. "She brings so much professionalism to our training. She is not that ruthless dog-eat-dog like Kiwis think all Aussies are. She just has such a great attitude.

"Before Kath actually came we talked about attitude a lot. It is all about attitude and whether yours is worth catching. When you come to training, what kind of attitude do you have ... is it positive, it is what we are after. You don't have to be Australian to have that."

With Harby-Williams on defence and Rowberry and Edward in the midcourt, the Diamonds have two thirds of the court covered. However, a question mark lies over the reliability of their new shooting lineup, which includes Auckland's Shelly Norris and former Cometz player Janine Topia.

"Everybody has been saying they don't even know who our shooters are, which is probably a good thing for us in terms of surprising the opposition.

"I think we have a couple of really good young players but I am trying to turn them from being just occasional performers to consistent ones," Hodson said.

Percentage shooting is what cost the Diamonds last year.

"In nearly all of the games we played we had more shots at goal. We played Magic and lost to them by about 20 but had more shots at goal.

"That is what it came down to, it was our shooting end that sealed our fate because we couldn't get them in."

In fact, should her team not perform under the hoop this year then Hodson said she will consider looking overseas next season.

"With the money our franchise is putting into us we have to be able to give something back and we can't if we haven't got a shooter.

"It is not that I don't have any faith in the shooters I have got, but if I could buy a 95 per cent shooter then I would at the drop of a hat. Australia's Cath Cox is someone who would be great to get."

The Diamonds are without Rowberry, who broke her arm in a preseason tournament, for the first two to three weeks of the competition. Leigh Price replaces her.

"I have to do the best with what I have got," Hodson said. "I do rate our girls it is just making sure they are up to it themselves."


NORTH SHORE FORCE (Last year: 2)

Force coach Yvonne Willering cringes when the conversation turns to last year's final.

In fact, the former Silver Ferns coach could be forgiven for trying to erase that match, where her North Shore-based side came so close to upsetting the mighty Southern Sting, from her mind.

In an absorbing, see-sawing encounter the Sting's greater control under pressure eventually told.

"I still have got the core of the team from last year but this is a new year and we want to see it as that," Willering said. "It is a new start for us ... it is a new competition."

The Force have retained eight players from last year.

Current Silver Ferns Sheryl Scanlan (nee Clarke) and Temepara Clark are two of the key elements in the side along with former Silver Ferns Linda Vagana, Daneka Wipiiti and Teresa Tairi.

Newcomers are Fijian representatives Matelita Shaw and Matila Waqanidrola, former Auckland Diamonds shooter Julie Kelman-Poto and former Counties and Manukau player Fleur Bell.

Unlike many of their opponents, the Force have an advantage in that they have a number of options open to them both on attack and defence.

"But that can work for and against you," Willering said.

"At trainings I do try out different combinations, whereas some teams rely very much on a main lineup, as Sting does. So they really just tend to focus on those players.

"It isn't just about injury for us. I think that we have got strength throughout. We are in a position where we can use substitutions not just when things go wrong but also for a change of game plan."

While it is hard to find a weakness in the Force squad, the consistency of their shooters, especially Wipiiti, has caused some difficulty in the past.

"Daneka has come on really well. She has done a lot of fitness work. She knows what her shortfalls were in the past and has really worked on them, but the end of the day she has to produce out on court.

'But she is a quality player without a doubt. There is also Julie Kelman-Poto in the equation now, so there is healthy competition there."

Last year's second placing was the Force's best result in the competition since its inception in 1998, something which is surprising considering the team has always been laden with current and former Silver Ferns.

"Sometimes it may be an issue of being too much of a team. There is a lot of caring within the team, which is great, but at the end of the day it is also about individual responsibility.

"Too often we wait for someone else to make the great intercept or the great shot and that tends to lift the whole team, but I think it is important for everyone to take that responsibility. Everyone should be trying to be the person that sparks."

The Force's first match is against Wellington's Capital Shakers on Sunday at the North Shore Events Centre.

"The first game is always that survival game. It is not until that first game that you start exposing what you are about, really," Willering said.

"But to be honest this first game is going to be more about us putting it together. It is one thing having practise games, but this is it in front of a home crowd, so obviously we want to make sure we come out firing."

WAIKATO/BAY OF PLENTY MAGIC (Last year: 3)

With Irene van Dyk on their side you can guarantee the Magic will have no trouble getting the ball through the hoop. But whether that will be enough to clinch them a first national title is the question heading into the opening round of the competition this weekend.

Up until last year the Magic had been one of the more erratic performers in the competition.

Since Waikato and Bay of Plenty amalgamated in 1999, the Magic have placed as high as third but have plummeted as low as ninth.

However, when Silver Ferns van Dyk and Leana du Plooy decided to join last year, hope was restored in the mighty Magic franchise.

This year new Magic coach Nicole Dryden, who guided Waikato to success in last year's national provincial championships, has opted for a blend of youth and experience.

Joining van Dyk in the shooting circle are Renee Jacobson and former Diamond Anna Senio.

Jenny-May Coffin will lead the midcourt without her able assistant Amigene Metcalfe, who gave birth to a little girl last week.

Joining Coffin in the middle third are New Zealand squad member Laura Langman, former Australian under-19 representative Katrina Anderson and South African representative Liezel Wium.

On defence, the side have plenty of firepower with du Plooy, Joline Henry and Casey Williams.

The loss of the fleet-footed Metcalfe will be a blow to the side but in Langman, Anderson and Wium they have three able replacements.

"It is going to look different after 10 years," Dryden said. "Whilst it will be different without her, the team have moved on from that and it is a new team and a new year."

Dryden said she is happy with the number of options she has on court and believes there is a real feeling of stability in the team, especially now that van Dyk and du Plooy are in their second season.

"There is a good feeling in the team so I guess familiarity and comfort with each other ... that is a result of that.

"But it will be great to get started and test the waters and see how you compare. Everyone is feeling good, which is the important thing."

The Magic face the Diamonds in their opening match, a team they thumped in a pre-season encounter after leading 21-3 in the first quarter.

But Dryden sees it as just that - a pre-season match. "We won't be living on that laurel, that is for sure, because they will come back strong."

And in her first year as a franchise coach, Dryden would love to add the words 'National Bank Cup champions' to her CV.

"You always have to improve. As a coach this competition is tough.

"It was great for the players (to win the NPC) and we do have a nucleus which is important to retain. But this is a different competition so the focus now is on doing well in it."

SOUTHERN STING (Last year: 1)

Gunning for their sixth consecutive national league title, it is hard to go past Robyn Broughton's champions from the far south.

Returning to the side are Silver Ferns Adine Harper, Lesley Nicol and Tania Dalton along with Jenny Ferguson, Emma Moynihan and Wendy Telfer.

Former Silver Fern goal attack Donna Loffhagen is also back for her seventh year with the side. Loffhagen is also a member of the New Zealand women's basketball squad but will be available for the Sting's key matches.

Two interesting catches are former Australian squad member Natalie Avellino, who can play at either goal attack or wing attack, and former Silver Fern defender Anna Galvan (nee Veronese).

Experienced defender Megan Hutton has moved to the Shakers, but Galvan, Ferguson, Moynihan and former national under-21 squad member Sarah Barnes comprise a pretty impressive defensive unit.

The defending champions have set the benchmark in the competition but with the Force, Magic and Flames all sporting strong lineups, could their stranglehold on the competition finally be broken?

OTAGO REBELS (Last year: 4)

Lois Muir's Otago Rebels scrapped into the top four last year, but with several changes to the side a similar feat could be a tough ask this time around.

While Muir has retained her powerful defensive duo of Anna Scarlett and Stephanie Bond, gone from last year's side are experienced midcourters Megan Parke and Janine Southby along with shooter Katie Richie, now with the Shakers.

Former Silver Fern Angela Mitchell will spearhead the shooting circle where she will team up with either Minpreet Singh-Padda, Anita van den Beld or Frances Jackways.

Debbie White, one of the veterans in the Rebels side, will lead the midcourt where she will be joined by Alison Shanks, former Magic player Megan Graamans, Phillipa Duncan and New Zealand under-21 member Debbie Hill.

Along with Bond and Scarlett, the Rebels also have under-21 member Melissa Ruru to call on in defence.

Since winning the inaugural national franchise competition in 1998, the Rebels have finished in the top four just twice - in 1999 and 2003.

What they lack in depth and experience, the Rebels will make up with grit and determination, but with such a young lineup they could struggle against the favoured sides.

CANTERBURY FLAMES (Last year: 6)

Something old, something new and some from last year pretty much describes the make-up of the Canterbury Flames.

Former Silver Ferns Julie Seymour and Belinda Charteris return to the competition where they join current internationals Belinda Colling, Jodi Te Huna and Vilimaina Davu. Feisty midcourter Maree Grubb also returns to the side, as does Natasha Marshall.

Newcomers are New Zealand under-21 squad members Elizabeth Manu and Anna Thompson and Joanna McCaw.

The Flames have finished second to the Sting three times - in 2000, 2001 and 2002 but they finished a disappointing sixth in last year's competition. The inclusion of Charteris and Seymour should give the team some much-needed experience and leadership.

With plenty of strength on defence and in the midcourt, whether or not the Margaret Foster-coached Flames succeed in this year's competition could depend on their shooters Colling, Te Huna and Chantelle Ngaia, and whether they can match the accuracy of the likes of Irene van Dyk and Tania Dalton.

CAPITAL SHAKERS (Last year: 8)

The Shakers could be the big movers this year.

After finishing a disappointing eighth last year, former Silver Fern Sheryl George-Burns took over the coaching reins and went into recruitment overdrive.

Joining the side are English midcourter Karen Aspinall, former Sting defender Megan Hutton, Rebels shooter Katie Ritchie and Cometz defender Cushla Lichtwark.

George-Burns also nabbed back midcourter Frances Solia, who after five years with the Shakers played for the Flames last season.

Marianne Archer, Sarah Bonham-Lloyd, Koren Pickard, Kathy Newman and Kylie Young are the only survivors from last season.

In the last six years the Shakers have had a mixed bag of results in the competition finishing eighth in 1998, fifth in 1999, third in 2000, fourth in 2001 and 2002 and eighth last year.

With the reliable Ritchie under the goal, the Shakers lineup is considerably stronger than last year, but a much sought-after semifinal spot may be just out of their reach.

WESTERN FLYERS (Last year: 9)

The Flyers found the competition hard going last year, failing to secure a win.

However, with former New Zealand squad member Yvette McCausland-Durie as the new head coach, they will be looking to close the gap on the opposition.

With six players retained from last year - Erika Burgess, Katarina Cooper, Wendy King, Leisa Norris-Spring, Jodi Tod and Raewyn Wilson - the Flyers have added New Zealand under-21 squad members Liana Barrett-Chase, Rebecca Kupa and Jessica Tuki to their side.

Also new is former Australian squad member Joanne Morgan, who should boost the shooting lineup.

The Flyers franchise now covers both the Western and Eastern regions incorporating areas such as Napier, Palmerston North, Wanganui and Taranaki.

Their four home games are spread between New Plymouth's TSB Stadium, Napier's Pettigrew Green Arena and Palmerston North's Arena Manawatu.

Sixth has been the Flyers' best placing in the competition, something McCausland-Durie is determined to improve on.

However, with such a young and inexperienced lineup it is expected they will once again struggle.