Netball: Jess Maclennan retains Tactix captaincy

Northlander Jess Maclennan will again be captain of the Mainland Tactix for the 2018 ANZ Championship. PHOTO/PHOTOSPORT.NZ

Defender Jess Maclennan has been reappointed as captain for the Mainland Tactix for the 2018 ANZ Premiership.

Maclennan (nee Moulds) will lead a squad which features Silver Ferns Temalisi Fakahokotau and Jane Watson, as well as former Australian Diamond Kate Beveridge.

Nelson-born defender Zoe Walker has been named vice-captain.

The Northlander joined the side in 2014 and has been a mainstay for the franchise which has struggled over the past couple of seasons.

Maclennan said she was excited about the coming season with last year's core returning and a number of exciting faces joining the squad.

"It's such an honour to have been appointed captain of what I believe is a really exciting group of athletes," she said.

"We've got some great players who have joined the Tactix family as well as a new coaching team, so we're looking forward to the start of the season and getting on court."

Maclennan took over the captaincy last season but played a limited on-court role as she worked her way back from a knee injury suffered while captaining the New Zealand A team against England in 2016.

Coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek said selecting Maclennan as captain of the side was an easy choice to make.

"Jess has the respect of the players and leads by example," she said.

"Her experience, commitment, belief and ability to lead from the front meant we had no hesitation in reappointing her to the captaincy role this season."

The Tactix have battled to put good results on the board over the past two seasons as they and all New Zealand teams made the transition from a transtasman competition to an all-Kiwi affair.

In the final year of the ANZ Championship, the Tactix picked up just two wins. They followed that with another two win season in 2017 in the inaugural ANZ Premiership, finishing bottom of the table.