VICTORIAN SUPER NETBALL TEAMS GROUNDED
PLANS for Victoria’s two Super Netball teams to fly to NSW on Wednesday have been put on hold as competition organisers scramble to get the Vixens and Magpies the necessary exemptions to allow them to properly prepare for the August 1 season start.
Netball Australia had been expected to release the season schedule on Tuesday. An announcement is now tipped to come by Thursday.
Increasing COVID-19 restrictions in NSW have thrown a spanner into the works but the Vixens and Magpies are at this stage expected to fly into Sydney late this week to ensure their 14-day quarantine period is over in time for the start of the season.
West Australian team West Coast Fever could be based in Queensland.
However, Australian Netball Players Association president Nat Medhurst said there remained great uncertainty about how the season would play out.
“A lot of the stuff we have no idea what’s happening because things are moving quite quickly, and changing all the time,” the Magpies star said.
“It’s similar with AFL in terms of you can’t plan too far ahead. The first three rounds of the season are starting on the first of August and then hopefully things might ease up.
“But it’s a moving beast both ways, both positively and negatively. so it’s causing clubs and players to be very dynamic in terms of how they’re dealing with it.
“There is still so much uncertainty 24-48 hours before players are supposed to be flying out in terms of exactly what is happening. There are meetings happening left, right and centre.”
Medhurst said an obvious priority was the Magpies and Vixens being able to train during their quarantine period.