Netball: Steel players dominate squad

Seven Southern Steel players have been picked in the Netball South team for the national under-23 championships in Auckland in July.

A 15-strong squad was announced yesterday, but will be reduced to 12 before the competition gets under way.

The talented squad includes Steel defenders Storm Purvis and Phoenix Karaka, midcourters Stacey Peeters and Gina Crampton, and shooters Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Brooke Leaver and Sophia Fenwick.

A selection of the region's best players trialled in Dunedin on Wednesday night to determine the squad.

Netball South performance manager Jo Morrison said she was impressed by the standard of netball on display at the trials.

''There was a very high calibre of players which trialled and I'm really excited about the squad we've selected,'' she said.

With more than half the final 12-strong squad set to be made up of Steel players, the other players selected would complement their skills and ultimately grow from the experience of playing alongside them, Morrison said.

''You would expect the Steel players to stand out amongst their peers, but other players certainly weren't out of their depth, either, and that bodes well for our zone,'' she said.

Earlier in the week, successful Otago coach Lauren Piebenga and Marie Holden, of Cromwell, were appointed coach and assistant coach of the team.

The southerners finished second to Waikato-Bay of Plenty the past two seasons, on both occasions losing by one goal in the decider.

 

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Netball South Under-23
The squad

Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Bridget Thayer, Sophia Fenwick, Brooke Leaver, Grace Earland, Gina Crampton, Hayley Crofts, Stacey Peeters, Sophie Napper, Cherith Schragg, Dani Gray, Sam Hollows, Storm Purvis, Phoenix Karaka and Renaye Flockton. 

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