IMPORT RULE B ACKED FOR GRE ATER GOOD
IT’S a rule blamed for Australia losing its Commonwealth Games crown but new Swifts coach Briony Akle is backing the open import policy in Super Netball.
The majority of English players who took down Australia in a massive 52- 51 upset at the Games were signed with Australian clubs in the inaugural Super Netball competition last year and will play on in season two.
Akle, a former top- level player now in charge of the NSW Swifts, says the open rule has helped lift the standard of the game across multiple countries.
And while the Diamonds 12 who lost at the Gold Coast Games might have paid the price for creating a stage for rival talent to shine, Akle believes this is a good thing for the growth of netball as a sport. “I have a view that it grows the game and that’s a good thing,’’ Akle said.
“Obviously you don’t want an entire team full of imports but I’d like to see the open rule stay.’’
Helen Housby, who plays for the NSW Swifts, scored the winning goal for England in the Games thriller.
England teammates Jo Harten and Serena Guthrie play for cross- town rivals, the Giants, in Super Netball.
Prior to the 2017 start of the eight team, Australia- based Super Netball competition, there were strict restrictions on the number of imported players allowed in teams in the now defunct trans- Tasman netball competition.
New Zealand, which for the first time finished without a medal in a shock fourth place at the Commonwealth Games, is the only country that bans any player wishing to represent as a Silver Fern from competing in Super Netball.
The 2018 Super Netball competition kicks off this weekend, with the Giants hosting Sunshine Lightning and the Swifts playing against the Queensland Firebirds in a double- header at Qudos Bank Arena.
The match between the Swifts and Firebirds is a battle between the teams which finished sixth and fifth respectively last year.