New format a focus for Steel training

Reinga Bloxham.
Reinga Bloxham.
A new competition brings with it new challenges for the Southern Steel.

That was the key focus when it came to planning the team's pre-season, which began in Invercargill yesterday. Its season opener of the new domestic netball league is still 72 days away, but there was plenty of excitement around as the squad gathered for the first time.

''Our plan for the pre-season is just to make sure we're as best prepared as we can be for the new competition,'' new coach Reinga Bloxham said.

''The new competition offers a bit of a different structure with the quicker turnarounds and sometimes there's some more condensed games. So we'll just have to make sure we've practised that and we're best prepared for that for when we hit a Super Sunday and stuff. So that's going to be one of our focuses.

''And just like every other season, we want to make sure we train them as hard as we can so we're fitter, faster and stronger than last year.''

The Super Sundays are a feature of the new competition. All six teams will play a game each at the same location on the same day. There will be three throughout the season and at times it will make for a very short turnaround. That will be evident for the Steel during its home Super Sunday on April 30, with a game scheduled against the Pulse the next day.

With the Silver Ferns and New Zealand under-21 teams both having campaigns over the next month, it was set to be a disrupted build-up.

Jamie Hume, Abby Erwood and Jennifer O'Connell are in Fiji with the under-21 team and will not return until next week.

Shannon Francois, Gina Crampton, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Jane Watson will leave with the Silver Ferns later in January.

Ashleigh Smith and Ngawai Eyles have been called up as training partners from the Netball South Beko League team. They will remain in the squad through to the start of the season on March 26.

''The next three to four weeks we've got people who are coming and going and it is a little bit disruptive. But it's something that we've had to deal with the last few years, anyway, so you just plan for it and make sure everyone's aware of what's happening.

''So I think it's not a major deal. It's a little bit disruptive, but the good thing is that we know they're getting some good-quality netball while they're away.''

Plenty of planning had been done and the players were following training programmes. Bloxham was looking forward to getting on the court with the team, though.

She steps into the head coach role after being an assistant to Noeline Taurua last year. The team will reconnect with Taurua in February when it travels to Australia to play and train with her Sunshine Coast Lightning.

Bloxham hoped to build on the success the side had under Taurua, although was aware this was a new team.

''I think with our season last year, we've got a good foundation. But we know that this year it's a whole new ball game.

''We've got a couple of new players coming in and some new management. So we just need to make sure we build on the culture we set up last year.''

Former Silver Ferns coach Wai Taumaunu has taken on the role of director of high performance at Netball Central. She will work with the Central Pulse and Netball Central Beko League team, as well as representative teams across the central region.

-By Jeff Cheshire

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