Steel defender Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit should feel annoyed at missing out on a place in Ruth Aitken's initial Silver Ferns squad.
The 21-year-old had a breakthrough season for the southern franchise, surprising many with her speed and athleticism. But, despite some outstanding performances, she was overlooked for the 17-strong national squad named earlier this week.
While clearly behind the likes of the classy Casey Williams and recalled goal keep and Steel team-mate Leana de Bruin, her form warranted a trial at the very least.
Instead, she was passed over in favour of former Silver Ferns defender Anna Scarlett and promising Canterbury Tactix defender Charlotte Kight.
Scarlett has been more recently spotted in a bikini, pressing her claims on the world beach volleyball circuit.
Undoubtedly, she is a fantastic athlete, and has kept her hand in at provincial level for Auckland-Waitakere since quitting when she missed out on a place in the New Zealand team for the 2007 world championship.
But Scarlett's form is an unknown quality, while Kight is more of a "project player" for the future. Her performances fell short of Selby-Rickit's accomplishments this season.
A nervy shooter, Selby-Rickit made the shift to the defence end two years ago and has made rapid progress.
She is deceptively fast, surprisingly agile and has great vision. She seems to get a head start on her opponents with an uncanny ability to read the play and, with a year or two more in the bib, is sure to develop into a very reliable campaigner.
With two players - Wendy Frew (shoulder injury) and Camilla Lees (study commitments) - vacating their posts and another, Cathrine Latu, not qualifying for selection until August next year, there was definitely room for one more at the trials.
While it is warm and fluffy keeping those three players in the loop, it is cold comfort for Selby-Rickit, who was easily the Steel's most improved player this season.
Steel captain Megan Dehn made her thoughts clear on the subject late last month, when she said Selby-Rickit was the best goal defence in New Zealand.
Steel coach Robyn Broughton knows a thing or two about netball, having led the Steel to back-to-back ANZ Championship play-off appearances and the Sting to seven national titles in 10 years.
So it was high praise when she said, of all the players she had coached, Selby-Rickit had the best instincts. The pair are not alone in their generous appraisal.
Former Silver Ferns shooter Jodi Brown told the Otago Daily Times she made the mistake of under-estimating Selby-Rickit when the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic was beaten 52-47 by the Steel in Invercargill in May.
She described Selby-Rickit as a tricky opponent who was unlucky to miss out.
Brown's decision to make herself unavailable for the international season has damaged the Silver Ferns' chances of defending the Commonwealth Games gold medal they won in Melbourne four years ago.
Half the battle has always been about getting Irene van Dyk the ball. The world's best shooter does not miss often when she is a metre or so from the net.
Brown demonstrated her ability to feed van Dyk with some strong performances for the Magic this season. That combination would have added potency to the Silver Ferns attack end.
Still, the Silver Ferns have the making of a very decent starting seven. Van Dyk, Maria Tutaia, Temepara George, Laura Langman, Scarlett, de Bruin and Williams all featured in the gold medal-winning squad.
While the Silver Ferns bench is not as strong as one might hope, only seven good players are needed to win any one game.
