Netball: Silver Ferns fill up pre-Games diary

Netball New Zealand has added three tests to an already packed Silver Ferns calendar as they build towards next year's Commonwealth Games.

The Ferns will play a one-off test against England following the World Netball Series in Manchester in October, before heading to the Caribbean for two matches against Jamaica.

It means the Silver Ferns will play 11 full tests this year as well as the three-day World Series tournament, in which they play a shortened version of the game.

New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken admits it will be a very long season for her side, but said it was a great opportunity to rebuild depth in the squad.

"This year is a really big year for us to build the foundations looking towards those pinnacle events in 2010 and 2011 and ensuring we've got the depth in our squad, so the more games the better," said Aitken.

The national coach expects there could be a number of changes to the test line-up over the course of the international season in order to avoid player burnout and give more inexperienced players opportunities.

"I think there will be some tweaking as we go," she said.

"We're really mindful of how long the season is now.

"It won't be until we actually get players into the Silver Fern environment that we'll get feel for fatigue levels and whether some players will need resting."

"We certainly want to be giving players an opportunity this year so if there's a player knocking at the door we'd like to give them a chance in one of the test series."

The Silver Ferns squad of up to 18 players will be named on July 31.

END OF YEAR TOUR

* October 9-11 World Netball Series, Manchester
* October 15 NZ v England, Bath
* October 20 NZ v Jamaica, Kingston
* October 22 NZ v Jamaica, Kingston