Ferns juggle their cover for Cullen
The return of two key players to the Silver Ferns Constellation Cup lineup has been offset by the loss of athletic star Kayla Cullen.
Cullen was yesterday ruled out for the rest of the international season after a flare- up of a preexisting foot injury.
The injury will see the versatile midcourter miss the four- test series against the Australian Diamonds, beginning in Sydney next week, along with the the Fast5 Netball World Series in Melbourne.
Cullen battled a foot injury earlier in the season and was side- lined for a month of the Mystics' ANZ Championship campaign. It i s expected she will require a further 6- 8 weeks of rehabilitation following a flare- up over the latter stages of last month’s three- test series against Jamaica, in which she sat out the final match.
The loss is a major setback for the Ferns, with Cullen having cemented her place in the starting line- up at wing defence, where her speed and athleticism made her a threat.
Cullen's withdrawal from the team comes as the New Zealand side prepares to welcome star shooter Maria Tutaia and energetic defender Anna Harrison back into the line- up following lengthy lay- offs.
The pair were forced to sit out the Quad Series and the Jamaican series as they battled niggly injuries — Harrison a calf strain and Tutaia a foot complaint.
With all three players to have been sidelined for the Ferns this year having come from the Mystics camp, questions have been raised over the Auckland side’s management of players this season.
Given the short lead- in time to the Constellation Cup, Ferns coach Janine Southby had planned to work Tutaia and Harrison back into playing duties over the course of the series.
There will now be pressure on Harrison, in particular, to get back up to speed quickly given the rangy defender has slotted into the wing defence role previously for the Ferns. The other option is pushing Laura Langman back to WD and starting Shannon Francois at centre — a combination that has been tried on several occasions over the past two seasons with mixed results.
Steel midcourter Gina Crampton will come into the squad for the Constellation Cup, but she is considered more of an attacking midcourter and is not an option to replace Cullen directly in the line- up. Should she make her debut during the series, Crampton will become the 164th player to take the court for the Ferns, and fifth new cap this year alone.
A decision on a replacement player for the Fast5 Netball World Series will be made next week.