Netball: Injured Dunedin skipper unable to play

The Dunedin netball team in its new uniform for the national provincial competition in Auckland next week. Standing (from left): manager Clare Malthus, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Bridget Thayer, Olivia Bates, Zoe Walker, Gina Crampton, coach Lauren Piebenga, R
The Dunedin netball team in its new uniform for the national provincial competition in Auckland next week. Standing (from left): manager Clare Malthus, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Bridget Thayer, Olivia Bates, Zoe Walker, Gina Crampton, coach Lauren Piebenga, Renaye Flockton. Front row (from left): Sophie Napper, Stacey Peeters, Miaana Walden, Danielle Gray, Kirsten Craig. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
The Dunedin netball team showed off its new uniforms last night before the national provincial competition starting in Auckland on Monday.

Dunedin, which is gunning for a third straight title, was at Stirling Sports last night to unveil its new kit and to mingle with the public before leaving for Auckland on Sunday.

While the fans and new uniform gave captain Gina Crampton something to smile about, a broken finger sustained at practice on Tuesday night did not.

She has been ruled out of the quest for a threepeat but will still travel with the team.

''It happened in game play. I just got a ball to the finger and it bent outwards.

''I tried to keep playing and then thought it might not be too good. I went and got an X-ray this morning and got some bad news.

''It's not very good timing ... but it's nice that I can just slip in as an assistant and still help out.

''I really wanted to be there for the girls,'' she said.

Crampton, who shifted to Dunedin from Wellington for university in 2010, captained the side at home last year after original captain Shannon Francois was called into the Silver Ferns just days before the competition started.

In a role reversal, Francois now comes into the squad for Crampton but coach Lauren Piebenga has not yet named a replacement captain.

Whoever steps into the role will do a ''great'' job, Crampton said. Players were in demand with children for autographs last night, and the injured captain said it was nice to be appreciated.

Dunedin has been pitted in pool A with Kapi Mana, Eastern Waikato and Counties Manukau, and will start with a double-header against Kapi Mana and Eastern Waikato on Monday.

After pool play is wrapped up against Counties Manukau on Tuesday, the playoffs start on Wednesday.

Dunedin ended a 14-year title drought when it beat Waikato 59-57 in the 2012 decider, before repeating last year with a thrilling 54-53 win against Hamilton.

Next week's tournament is the second since Netball New Zealand switched from the old provincial model to a new zone-based system which ties the regions to the five ANZ Championship sides.

 -by Robert Van Royen 

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