Yvonne Willering: New season brings tiring challenges for players

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Opinion

Hopefully all teams this season will be at reasonable competitive strength with no team able to be taken lightly. Early indications are that this will be the case. This year's transtasman netball series presents different challenges from previous years, for coaches and players alike.

Because the world championships are to be held in Singapore at the beginning of July, it means that not only is the ANZ season starting earlier than in previous years, but it will also take on a condensed format, with the teams at times having to play midweek games.

There will also be no bye weekends in this year's draw.

It's great for the fans. What a feast of netball over the next four months, closely followed by the world championships.

But from the players' point of view, there is now little recovery time should someone receive even a minor injury such as a sprained ankle or illness.

As the ANZ Championship progresses what we don't want to see is the survival of the fittest and injuries to players, thus preventing teams from putting their strongest lineups out on the court.

However, I don't believe that the series is going to be about rotation of players. Most teams have only a dominant seven or eight experienced players and the chance of putting their less experienced players out on court for any great length of time may not occur.

Hopefully all teams this season will be at reasonable competitive strength with no team able to be taken lightly. Early indications are that this will be the case.

However, teams that come to mind having particular depth in their ranks are the Swifts, Vixens and Mystics. In the defensive end Mo'onia Gerrard will add extra options for the Swifts, who have the experience of Sonia Mkoloma and Rebecca Bulley in that area of the court.

Similarly the Vixens will reap the benefits from the inclusion of Geva Mentor, who could form a formidable combination with either Bianca Chatfield or Julie Corletto and Renae Hallinan.

The Mystics, on the other hand, have extra strength and experience in their attacking end of the court with the addition of Megan Dehn into their ranks. She is able to form a combination with Cathrine Latu, Maria Tutaia or Grace Rasmussen in the circle, all of whom are now experienced players in their own right.

In contrast, a team such as the Magic will still have a strong reliance on Irene van Dyk, Laura Langman and Casey Williams to see them through in all games played.

However, these players are experienced enough to know and appreciate what is required at this level of competition and will have undertaken the necessary pre-season preparation work.

Apart from less recovery time between games, teams also need to make adjustments to their schedules, now having to take into account possible extra travel. West Coast Fever will be the most affected team, having to travel great distances even to play teams based in Australia, and they also have a scheduled midweek game.

All this said, the team who takes home the trophy will have to show consistency throughout each game played - they must have the necessary physical and mental preparation both on and off the court.

International players and those knocking on the door for top honours will also be looking ahead to the world championships so would be wary of any niggling injuries incurred during the transtasman league.


However, pride will ensure that all players will strive to play to the best of their ability in each game. They all want to be at the top of the table.

The national coaches of both countries will no doubt be watching the ANZ Championship with mixed emotions. However, it is important that they trust the league coaches on matters of player welfare, training regimes and quality of play.