Netball: Ferns spoilt for choice in defence

Katrina Grant of the Silver Ferns jumps for the ball with Malu Faasavalu and Shirin Chang of Samoa. Photo / Getty Images.

Rising talent Katrina Grant says competition for starting spot fierce with one test to go before Delhi.

Heading into the international season, one of the main areas of intrigue was how the Silver Ferns coaching staff would juggle their wealth of defensive talent.

And, in the face of such strong competition, who would emerge the frontrunners to seal the starting spots come the knockout rounds of the Commonwealth Games.

With inspirational captain Casey Williams always going to be central to the coaches' plans in the defensive end, effectively there are three players - Katrina Grant, Leana de Bruin and Anna Scarlett - scrapping over one position.

Five games into the season and with just one test remaining before the Commonwealth Games, Ruth Aitken and Waimarama Taumaunu still seem happy to mix up their defensive lines.

Aitken said they were yet to settle on their first-choice defensive pairing, with all three players considered strong, viable options to partner Williams.

"We're still looking at our options going forward to Delhi," she said before last night's match. "So there will be some more changes as we go."

But the player who has impressed the pundits the most, the people's choice if you like, is Grant - the young Central Pulse defender who, after an injury-disrupted season, initially worried she wouldn't even make the team.

Grant made the bold decision last year to leave the successful Southern Steel franchise, where she was just one of many national players, to join the league stragglers in Wellington. What followed was a season of injury, frustration and many, many losses.

She dislocated her finger in the warm-up before the first game - she still took to the court but her performance in her debut game fell well short of the hype her move north had generated.

After the shaky start, she struggled to make an impact in her ensuing matches.

Then, midway through the season came the major blow, with Grant forced to sit out the competition for more than a month to allow a persistent foot injury to heal.

It was an anxious time for her as she worried about the repercussions her injury lay-off may have on her chances of Ferns selection.

"I was a bit worried during my injury how I would come back from it," said Grant.

"When I did come back, I played a little bit better than I had in the beginning, but going to trials with only a few games under my belt was really tough - especially knowing Scarlett had come back. So I was really relieved when I got the call-up."

While she has had a mixed ANZ Championship career, on the international stage, Grant has gone from strength to strength.

The 23-year-old debuted for the Ferns in 2008 in their 38-31 win over Australia in the second test. Grant's brilliant performance at goal defence was one of the highlights of that match. But her breakthrough season came last year, when she secured the starting spot goal keep bib, forming a formidable combination with Williams.

Now, with the return of de Bruin and Scarlett this season and heightened competition for court time, Grant continues to prove her class.

"There's three of us going for that one position and last year we didn't have so much competition going in for places. This year it has just lifted heaps.

"We've got some great defenders with me in the team so it is just a huge battle to get out on court and it's definitely always in the back of my mind that I really have to push my case when I get out on court."

Grant made a huge impact when injected off the bench in the Ferns' opening test win over Jamaica, while she earned plenty of praise for her performance in Sunday's opening test against Australia, when she lined up against Diamonds captain Sharelle McMahon.

Against the nippy Australian forward line, Grant and Williams did a solid job of disrupting their rhythm - forcing a number of exasperated sighs and deathly stares from the theatrical McMahon.

"She's such a competitor and it's great to play against her," Grant said of the Australian veteran.

"You always know it's going to be a tough, hard battle, but those are the challenges you love."