Netball: Force set to unleash a secret weapon

Northern Force coach Yvonne Willering has her fingers crossed as she prepares to go one step further in this year's national league.

The Force, beaten in last year's National Bank Cup final by five-time winners the Southern Sting, are one of three franchises who did not name their full complement of 12 for this season's competition when the squads were released yesterday.

The Fujifilm-sponsored Force are in consultations with Netball New Zealand over an unnamed player's eligibility. A decision is expected by the end of this week.

Willering is keeping mum about the player she wants until the decision is made. But if Netball New Zealand gives the franchise the all-clear, she will be one happy coach.

That would give her a squad which she believes "without a doubt" would have the ability to win the cup for the first time.

"We're looking to go one step further. It's about winning the competition and every team should have that ultimate goal," she said.

The Force have picked up Julie Kelman-Poto from cross-town rivals the Auckland Diamonds and midcourter Fleur Bell, and lost former Silver Fern defender Lorna Suafoa, who has moved to the Diamonds.

Bell, back in top-level netball after an injury layoff, is a player Willering knows from her Collegiate days, before the national league.

The other franchises yet to announce their full squad are the Diamonds - boosted by the arrival of longtime Australian captain Kathryn Harby-Williams - who have one spot open, and the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, with two spots.

Final squads must be confirmed by Monday.

This season the cup has eight teams after the axing of the Counties Manukau Cometz in the wake of a review. The competition begins on April 17.

NATIONAL LEAGUE SQUADS

Force: Fleur Bell, Temepara Clark, Kate Dowling, Kimberley Horton, Julie Kelman-Poto, Sheryl Scanlan (nee Clarke), Teresa Tairi, Linda Vagana, Daneka Wipiiti, Angelina Yates (two to be added). Coach: Yvonne Willering

Diamonds: Kiri Adams, Loren Eagle, Victoria Edward, Krystal Feterika-Opetaia, Kathryn Harby-Williams, Juanita Nilsen, Shelley Norris, Anna Rowberry, Lorna Suafoa, Bridgette Tapene, Janine Topia (one to be added). Coach: Joan Hodson

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic: Laurelle Borck, Jenny May Coffin, Leana Du Plooy, Joline Henry, Renee Jacobsen, Laura Langman, Katrina McCaffery, Anna Senio, Irene Van Dyk, Casey Williams (two to be added). Coach: Nicole Dryden

Flyers: Joanna Andrew, Liana Barrett-Chase, Erika Burgess, Katarina Cooper, Wendy King, Rebecca Kupa, Tammy Kupa, Joanne Morgan, Leisa Norris-Spring, Jodi Tod, Jessica Tuki, Raewyn Wilson. Coach: Yvette McCausland-Durie

Capital Shakers: Marianne Archer, Karen Aspinall, Sarah Bonham-Lloyd, Jo Brown, Evelina Faamausili, Megan Hutton, Cushla Lichtwark, Kathy Newman, Koren Pickard, Katie Ritchie, Frances Solia, Kylie Young. Coach: Sheryl George-Burns

Canterbury Flames: Belinda Charteris, Belinda Colling, Vilimaina Davu, Maree Grubb, Cherie Irwin, Elizabeth Manu, Natasha Marshall, Joanna McCaw, Chantelle Ngaia, Julie Seymour, Jodi Te Huna, Anna Thompson. Coach: Margaret Foster

Otago Rebels: Stephanie Bond, Phillipa Duncan, Megan Graamans, Debbie Hill, Frances Jackways, Angela Mitchell, Melissa Ruru, Anna Scarlet, Alison Shanks, Minpreet Singh-Padda, Anita Van den Beld, Debbie White. Coach: Lois Muir

Southern Sting: Natalie Avellino, Sarah Barnes, Reinga Bloxham, Tania Dalton, Jenny Ferguson, Adine Harper, Donna Loffhagen, Emma Moynihan, Lesley Nicol, Kylie Smith, Wendy Telfer, Anna Veronese. Coach: Robyn Broughton

Note: Teams who have not named their full squad have until next Monday to fill places from the player pool.