Aiken injury a mental test
Firebirds without star for first time
THE historic absence of superstar shooter Romelda Aiken from the Suncorp Super Netball clash with Adelaide tonight will test Queensland’s “strength of character’’, says Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke.
Aiken will miss her firstever match for the Firebirds since her debut in 2008, after suffering a strained knee capsule in the loss to the Melbourne Vixens last weekend.
The three-time MVP and three-time championship winner had played 136 straight games and is only likely to miss one week.
She is the leading goalshooter in the history of the ANZ Championship with 858 goals – 256 clear of her nearest rival Caitlin Bassett – and was carrying a considerable attacking load again in 2017.
The giant void left by the record-setting Jamaican’s withdrawal will be filled by Gretel Tippett and teenager Abigail Latu-Meafou, with training squad member Alexia Baker set to come on to the bench for the match-up with the Thunderbirds in Adelaide.
“It’s a really good opportunity to step up and be able to do the job without a really important player,’’ Jencke said.
“It’s another line-up and another style of play without Romelda, but someone else gets to grab the bib and say ‘here I am’.
“It’s a chance to see where the strength of character is right at this moment and how the team competes.’’
Jencke said Aiken would have played if it were a final.
“She wasn’t 100 per cent right to play so it was a matter of whether you risk her for one week and then you play her and she’s out for four weeks,’’ she said.
Jencke said the Firebirds quickly dealt with the loss to the Vixens and turned their focus to making amends against the Thunderbirds.
“It was disappointing how we played last weekend but that’s gone now,” she said.
“There’s no use dwelling on it. We just need to execute our fundamental basics really well and to value the ball and keep it in our hands.’’
SWIFTS coach Rob Wright says injured midcourter Kim Green is irreplaceable but he believes the Giants remain the team to beat for this year’s Super Netball crown.
Wright, who coached Green at the Swifts before she changed clubs in the offseason, said the veteran’s experience could not be mirrored but her teammates would rally to fill the void left by the former Diamond who suffered a season-ending ACL injury last round.
“She is a terrific loss but this is a tight-knit team,’’ she said.
“This will lift them. They will be playing for her now.’’
Green’s loss is a major blow for the Giants’ top-of-the-table match with the Vixens in Melbourne tonight.