KEY POINTS:
Former Silver Fern star Vilimaina Davu has just one message for Netball New Zealand: "I've still got it."
The bruising defender was one of the key figures in the Silver Ferns' 2003 World Championship campaign, but now it appears Netball NZ is turning their back on her.
Davu's
bid to play as an import for the Northern Mystics in the new ANZ Championship has been blocked by Netball NZ, who believe the Auckland franchise would be better served by local talent.
The Mystics are appealing against the decision - a process that could take up to two weeks.
Though Davu has a long association with netball in this country, having played 58 tests for the Silver Ferns and featured in the National Bank Cup since 2000, she is classed as an ineligible player after turning out for Fiji at last year's World Champs.
Having been a long servant of New Zealand netball, Davu she was surprised the national body had moved to exclude her from the new transtasman competition.
"I've been in the New Zealand team for six years so it was a bit hard for me to take it at first," she said. "I understand where they're coming from with the eligibility rule but I believe I have a lot to offer this competition, I've still got it."
Publicly, Netball NZ's main reason for vetoing Davu's inclusion in the Mystics squad is to protect the development pathways for potential Silver Ferns. But reading between the lines it seems the national body believe Davu is not up to competing in the new transtasman competition.
Netball NZ chief executive Raelene Castle said that on the basis of Davu's performances for Fiji at the last World Champs in Auckland they believed the defender would not enhance the franchise or the championship.
Davu admits her conditioning wasn't where it should have been at the World Champs, but she believes it was unfair of Netball NZ to base their decision on her performances for Fiji - a side she was also coaching. The formidable defender was only a late inclusion in the Fijian line-up for the championships after visa issues ruled out some of the squad members.
"It's so much different being there as a coach than it is as a player," Davu insisted.
Having returned to Auckland in the first instance after signing a promotional deal with a weight-loss company, Davu said she was determined to regain her fitness and get back into shape.
When she is at the top of her game Davu is an intimidating presence on the court with an uncanny knack of riling her opposition. With her deft timing and speed off the mark, Davu was considered one of the best defenders in the world when at her peak for the Silver Ferns. She's big, but many would be surprised to learn that such was the defender's explosive speed, that Davu was one of the fastest in the Silver Ferns squad over 10m.
The 31-year-old is on a rigorous training regime and is confident she will be ready to hit the court by the start of the ANZ Championship - if she's given the chance.
"I've been through it all before. I've been in the New Zealand team for six years and played in the national league and I know the expectation from a coach for their players to be fit and keep up their training," she said.
"The focus for me right now is getting back into shape, carrying on with my training and giving myself every opportunity to play again."
Davu said criticism over her fitness has only made her more determined to play.
"If I don't play this year, then my goal is to play next year, I really want to get back on court and prove myself."
And it seems Davu has a lot of doubters. The Mystics eligibility saga is just the latest in a string of controversies she has found herself embroiled in over the past year. Her role as player-coach for Fiji at the last World Champs drew criticism from many quarters and when the Pacific Island nation finished a disappointing ninth Davu was promptly axed as coach.
Davu has tried to get away from Fiji and set up a new life in Auckland, where she is planning to further her studies.
She is philosophical about her experiences in Fiji though and believes it has been a good learning experience.
"People are entitled to their opinions I feel like I have grown not only as a player but as a person, I feel like I'm an inch taller now." But it is inches around her waist Netball NZ seem more concerned about.
