Marlins’ key trio on radar of Rays

FLEDGLING Sapphire Series club the Northern Rays are circling standout Marlin Coast Marlins trio Jacqueline Dupuy, Chloe Fredericksen and Chantelle Tikitau ahead of their first season.

Cairns Netball Association was not involved in the bidding process for the Rays licence from Netball Queensland, with Mackay and Townsville going alone, with the brand new club now aiming to sign Far North players for their first ever team.

Fredericksen, who captained the Marlins to an undefeated premiership in 2018, and Dupuy, the club’s skipper in their first season back in the state league, have been identified as players of serious interest to the Rays.

Teenager Tikitau is being scouted as a development player with the Rays in their first season in 2019.

Inaugural coach Jillian Joyce, who is Townsvillebased, also chased talented Marlins youngster Rachel Fa’anana, but missed out on her signature, with the Cairns Saints product to relocate to Brisbane to study, as well as further her netball.

Cairns’ Eleanor Horsburgh, who was earlier this year selected in the 2019 Queensland Fusion squad, was another target of the Rays, but the former Marlin has decided to purse other opportunities.

Joyce is yet to officially land any of the talented Far North netballers, with question marks hanging over how they would be integrated into the Rays team for training with the distance between the cities involved.

“Certainly those players (Dupuy, Fredericksen and Tikitau) are strong players from Cairns and across the region,” Joyce said. “They have performed exceptionally well this year and I think they would be of value to the team.

“We are in a unique position in north Queensland that we want players to stay in their home location, that is why we have got a team up here in the north.”

Another stumbling block facing the potential Cairnsbased Rays players is Cairns Netball’s intentions to enter a team into the inaugural Ruby League next year, which is a step below the Sapphire Series.