Pregnant player’s contract not renewed
Pregnant goal shoot Romelda Aiken-George claims her Super Netball contract hasn’t been renewed because the Queensland Firebirds deem it ‘‘too risky’’ for her to make a return next season.
The Jamaican veteran, who was one of Jamaica’s stars in their upset win over the Silver Ferns in 2018, announced her pregnancy in February, opting not to play the 2022 season – which would have been her 15th year with the club – after battling with morning sickness and Covid-19.
‘‘Too risky they say So I will NOT be in the FIREBIRDS next season.’’ Romelda Aiken-George
At the time she said she was looking forward to her return in 2023.
But the 33-year-old now says she hasn’t been offered a contract for next year, leaving her two games short of her 200-game milestone. Since joining the Firebirds following the 2007 World Cup she has been a key member of three premiership-winning sides.
‘‘Okay, so a lot of people has been asking if I’ll be playing for the firebirds next season, the answer is ‘NO’,’’ Aiken-George wrote on Instagram. ‘‘And that decision was not made by me, it was by the club.
‘‘Too risky they say So I will NOT be in the FIREBIRDS next season.’’
It comes after Queensland, who finished sixth this year, offered fellow shooters Donnell Wallam and Gretal Bueta new deals.
Wallam got her start with the Firebirds this year after Aiken-George’s decision to take early maternity leave and made an immediate impact, already winning Australian squad selection. Diamonds star Bueta returned to playing just four months after the birth of her first child, but it appears Aiken-George won’t get the same opportunity.
‘‘Netball Queensland is aware of commentary surrounding Queensland Firebird Romelda Aiken-George and her recent social media post,’’ the organisation said.
‘‘The Queensland Firebirds 2023 playing roster is incomplete, with the club shortly set to name a new Head Coach, and the remaining three contracted players, plus training partners still to be confirmed.’’
The club said Bueta, Wallam and long-range shooting specialist Mia Stower had ‘‘developed a strong and proven combination during the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball season’’.