Gretel’s early tip is a bolt of Lightning

LOCALLY born and bred Firebirds star Gretel Tippett will be back on board with the Gold Coast Bulletin to keep readers up to date with news and views on the new Suncorp Super Netball season.

Tippett, at 22 years of age and already a dual national representative in basketball and netball, will present a weekly Friday column starting next week to herald the opening salvos of the SSN competition.

“I’m really excited because I think this year will be quite different in that it’s the beginning of a new competition,” Firebirds goal attack Tippett said.

“The majority of teams have completely new line-ups so there will definitely be a lot of new challenges throughout the season.

“I think most games will definitely go down to the wire as well.”

Fresh back from Australian Diamonds representative duties in South Africa and England, Tippett has thrown out a longterm prediction.

She has tipped the Sunshine Coast franchise as a likely surprise packet on the back of two signings – coach Noeline Taurua and superstar Laura Langman.

Taurua has upset the Kiwi fraternity by moving across the Tasman for her new role.

She is the only New Zealander to have won the old trans-Tasman league with the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in 2012.

“She coached the Southern Steel last year and we beat them by only three in a semi-final,” Tippett said.

“And she has brought with her Laura Langman, arguably the best centre of all time for New Zealand.”

The former ANZ Championship format was abandoned last year and has been broken into separate Australian and New Zealand competitions.

Three new franchises have been created – Collingwood in Melbourne, Giants in western Sydney and the Sunshine Coast Lightning – to join Adelaide Thunderbirds, Melbourne Vixens, Sydney Swifts, West Coast Fever and the Firebirds for an eightteam series.

The Firebirds host the Lightning in Round 1 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on February 18.