Towering centre and former Silver Fern Daneka Wipiiti is overseas with partner Joe Tuineau, Tall Ferns forward Casey Lockwood and home-grown centre Patrice McKenzie are struggling with injuries and have ruled themselves out and forward Jodi Brown has been selected in the Silver Ferns.
Te Paea Selby-Rickit is in Australia on duty with the New Zealand under-21 netball team, back-up guard Dayna Turnbull is heading to the United States to take up a scholarship, and dual international Suzie Bates has taken a break from basketball to focus on her role as captain of the White Ferns.
Small forward Samara Gallaher also remains in doubt for the tournament which begins in Dunedin tomorrow. She has been suffering from dizzy spells following a head knock and will need medical clearance to play.
Basically, the Goldrush squad has been pared back to bare bones.
"Let's put it this way. The players who can't play would have been good enough to win it," Goldrush coach Brent Matehaere said.
"The interesting thing, though, is the team has been training really, really well and those players haven't been there. They have made big improvements through the season and girls like Janet Main, Soraya Umaga-Jensen and Danielle Calnan have been around for a long time now.
"And you throw in Samara into that mix and it is reasonably solid."
The Goldrush, though, will lack size without the likes of Wipiiti and Lockwood. The pair dominated the paint for the Goldrush last season and Wipiiti produced a superb performance in the 72-57 win against the Nelson Sparks in the final, scoring 21 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Centre Grace Allan will be thrust into the spotlight in their absence and trusted with grabbing the defensive boards, but the team will have to adapt its style by moving the ball up court quickly and seeking to score from fast breaks.
The Goldrush opens its campaign against the Harbour Breeze tomorrow morning and plays the Hutt Valley Flyers in the evening. The playoffs are on Friday with the finals on Saturday.
• Basketball Otago will host the New Zealand Breakers and the Wollongong Hawks for a fundraising dinner and memorabilia auction the night before the team's pre-season game in Dunedin on September 13.
The proceeds will go to the Basketball Otago age-group representative programme.
