NEW FACES FOR FERNS?
Netball: Whitney Souness and Monica Falkner knock on the door
Finding a long-term wing defence and starting defensive partner for captain Katrina Grant are two pressing issues nagging the Silver Ferns.
Coach Janine Southby will unveil the 16-strong squad in Auckland tomorrow along with a national development squad, which is expected to include teenage shooting talent Tiana Metuarau.
From the Silver Ferns list, two 12-player squads will also be named for the Quad Series and three-test Taini Jamison Trophy home matches against England in September.
Features of the naming could include first time call-ups for Pulse midcourter Whitney Souness, Magic shooter Monica Falkner and a recall for Tactix defender Temalisi Fakahokotau.
Eight months out from the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Southby must start firming up her defensive combinations, having been shorn of 293 caps over the past year.
Following the international retirements of Leana de Bruin, Casey Kopua and Anna Harrison in June, there is no clear first-choice option at goal keep to line up alongside Grant.
Grant, Jane Watson, the MVP of the inaugural national premiership, Phoenix Karaka and Kelly Jury will all be certainties in the squad, leaving one hole in the defensive ranks.
Fakahokotau, who was a revelation for the struggling Tactix this season, looks to have done enough to edge Storm Purvis.
Mystics defender Michaela Sokolich-Beatson’s star is on the rise after captaining New Zealand to the under-21 World Youth Cup title in Botswana last month and a pleasing ANZ Premiership campaign. A back injury, which prevented Sokolich-Beatson from taking part in court work at national trials this week, may have counted against her.
Once an area of major strength, wing defence has become a worry.
With midcourt great Laura Langman ineligible for selection in either 2017 or 2018 because she is playing in Australia with the titlewinning Sunshine Coast Lightning, there is a gaping hole.
Harrison was the preferred wing defence in January’s Quad Series, but she’s hung up her Silver Ferns’ bib.
Kayla Cullen is the frontrunner to fill the void, but she’s battled to stay on the court in recent years. She is on the mend from knee surgery and may miss the start of the international season. Magic’s Samantha Sinclair, who made her debut against Australia in January, should be handed the starting wing defence role if Cullen is absent.
Steel duo Shannon Francois and Gina Crampton will both be there after strong seasons. Grace Rasmussen, who wasn’t at her best with the Magic this season and has signed with the Stars for 2018, could be under pressure for her starting spot at wing attack.
Rasmussen should make the 16 on past deeds, but her place in the starting seven is coming under threat from Crampton.
Souness was one of the premier wing attacks in the New Zealand competition and looks to have done enough.
Should Souness be selected, it would cap off a memorable past 12 months having missed the entire 2016 season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Goal attack Metuarau, the 16-year-old daughter of former Silver Ferns coach and captain Wai Taumaunu, is expected to be named in the national developmental squad.
The Silver Ferns’ opening Quad Series game is against South Africa in Brisbane on August 26.