KEY POINTS:
Northern Mystics coach Yvonne Willering is dismissing any suggestion that her new line-up for the upcoming ANZ Championship season are light on experience in the attacking end.
The former Silver Ferns coach yesterday unveiled her squad for the inaugural season of the transtasman league.
Willering has named just
three specialist shooters - rookie Silver Fern Paula Griffin, former Flames goal-attack Jade Topia and Samoan international Catherine Latu. With Griffin still in her teens and Topia and Latu only 21, questions have been raised over whether the young line-up can cope with the pressure of intense competition.
But Willering has been quick to defend her selection choices.
"While they're youthful, they have had a reasonable amount of experience, so I'm not going to buy into that," the veteran coach said.
The Mystics have lost a great deal of shooting talent from the region.
Silver Ferns shooter Maria Tutaia headed south to the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, former Force shooter Brigette Tapene has also been snatched up by the Magic and former Force shooter Megan Dehn, a former Australian international, has linked up with the Southern Steel.
Willering is confident the trio she has picked can do the job. "People say they're just youngsters, and yes they are, but some of them have been involved in pretty top competition. I expect they will rise to the occasion."
The idea of having only three specialist shooters in the team (though Grace Rasmussen can be used as a back-up shooter) doesn't appear to faze Griffin either. The youngster is likely to shoulder a great deal more shooting responsibilities than she has at this level in the past - a prospect Griffin is relishing.
"I'm not too worried about it - we're working on our combinations and I'm really looking forward to it," the 19-year-old said.
But Griffin, who has three test caps to her name, insists it is not a given that she will have more game time with the Mystics than she got with the Diamonds in last year's National Bank Cup.
"I can't expect to get on the court just because I'm in the Ferns so I definitely need to step up, and whoever is playing best on the day will be on the court."
With 11 of the 12-strong squad confirmed so far, the Mystics still have the option of adding another shooter. The Auckland franchise have applied to Netball New Zealand to include a second ineligible player, but they have asked the national body to consider a couple of options. While it's likely a shooter will be in the mix, the Mystics have also sought the okay to sign former Silver Fern and Fijian international Vilimaina Davu.
"At the moment I'm a little unsure of where that 12th player will fit, but we have applied to Netball New Zealand for a couple of players and we're waiting obviously to get the go-ahead, and then I will decide," Willering said.
Should Davu be included, she will join an already impressive-looking defensive end that includes Silver Ferns Sheryl Scanlan and Leana de Bruin, along with the under-rated Stephanie Bond.
But, with concerns over the former Ferns star's lack of conditioning, there are doubts over whether she will have the same impact in the new league as she has had in seasons past.
Mystics CEO Mark Cameron said he expects to learn Netball New Zealand's decision on their application on Monday.
MYSTICS SQUAD
Stephanie Bond, Leana de Bruin, Rawinia Everitt, Temepara George, Paula Griffin, Cathrine Latu, Grace Rasmussen, Rachel Rasmussen, Sheryl Scanlan, Jade Topia, Angelina Yates
