Steel lineup features plenty of talent
January 25th, 2008, 6:33 pm Hobbies News
The Southern Steel team was revealed yesterday and while Broughton was thrilled with the line up, she also suggested some players may have some positional changes in store.
Although the New Zealand netball environment is relatively short on shooting stocks, the Steel has signed five players with experience in the shooting circle.
Former Australian goal attack Megan Dehn, Sting goal shooters Daneka Wipiiti and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, Rebels shooter Jess Tuki and young Canterbury Flames goal shoot Julianna Naoupu have all signed with the Steel giving the team an excess of talented shooters.
With Megan Hutton currently playing netball in the English Superleague and possibly missing for the Steels first game if her team makes the finals, that could open a spot in the defensive end of the court for Selby-Rickit, who plays defence for the New Zealand under-21s.
There she would be teamed with Katrina Grant and Erika Burgess, while Tuki could be looked at as a mid-court option, Broughton said.
Broughton was leaving her options open at this stage, but said she would be looking to establish combinations and a starting seven as quickly as possible.
%26quot;Im a coach that likes a bit of stability,%26quot; she said.
%26quot;Theres plenty of talent … If we can put it all together and work hard at it Im sure we are going to be pretty (strong).%26quot;
Broughton said she was %26quot;very, very pleased%26quot; with how the team had shaped up.
Dehn and former Silver Fern Jenny May Coffin come into the team with some crucial experience, while younger players including Naoupu, who has had just one season in the National Bank Cup, and Selby-Rickit will gain plenty from a season in the ANZ Championship.
Sting mid-courters Liana Barrett-Chase and Wendy Telfer are also set to continue their rise up the netball ranks under Broughtons guidance.
%26quot;Its a strong mix — there are some experienced players there along with some excellent young talent,%26quot; Broughton said.
While there are no current Silver Ferns in the southern mix, that wasnt worrying Steel chief executive Julie Paterson.
The entire team boasts national representative honours at some level. Barrett-Chase, Wipiiti and White were all in the Silver Ferns squad last year, Grant, Burgess and Tuki are in the New Zealand A squad, Dehn is a former Australian representative and Coffin a former Silver Fern, while Selby-Rickit and Naoupu are both in the New Zealand under-21s.
Telfer is a former captain of the New Zealand under-21s and Hutton is a former New Zealand A player.
%26quot;Robyns teams, in the past, have never been stacked with Silver Ferns. Last year our only Silver Fern was Adine Wilson, and Donna (Wilkins) had the ability, but its not something that concerns me even slightly,%26quot; Paterson said.
A training weekend is scheduled in Invercargill from February 8 to 10, but Broughton was hoping the bulk of the team would start training next week.
The Southern Steels first game is on April 7 in Sydney against the New South Wales Swifts.
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