The Beko Netball League is already helping bolster New Zealand's playing depth, with three of the stars of the new domestic competition selected to trial for the Silver Ferns and NZA teams.
Central's Karin Burger, Monica Falkner of the Waikato-Bay of Plenty team, and Netball South shooter Jamie Hume have been included in the 28-strong group for next month's trials.
The Silver Ferns line-up to contest the inaugural Quad Series against Australia, England and South Africa will be named at the end of the three-day trials.
However, the young trio are not in contention for direct elevation into the Silver Ferns. It is more likely they are being looked at for positions in the NZA team, which will likely play warm-up matches against some of the visiting international sides this year.
The inclusion of the Beko League stars in the selection mix has reinforced the importance of the domestic competition, which underpins the ANZ Championship, in developing the next tier of young talent. Although the transtasman league will split next season, with each country moving back to standalone domestic competitions, Netball NZ plan to keep the Beko League in operation to provide meaningful competition opportunities to young up and coming players.
