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KEY POINTS:
Former Silver Ferns and new mothers Adine Wilson and Donna Wilkins will make their long-awaited return to top-level netball today when they take the court for the Southern Steel at a pre-season tournament in Queenstown.
But there is little chance they will be able to ease their way back into the sport gently, with the Steel scheduled to meet the defending champion NSW Swifts in the opening match of the tournament.
For Wilkins, who gave birth to son Cooper just 11 weeks ago, there are more than a few nerves over her return.
"I guess I'm a little bit nervous just because I have high expectations of myself and I want to get out there and do what I used to do. I do know that I probably won't be able to do that, but I'm definitely looking forward to having these five games this weekend," she said.
The former dual international made the gutsy decision to sign with the Steel for the 2009 ANZ Championship season while she was still pregnant with Cooper. But the birth didn't go as smoothly as she'd hoped, with Wilkins requiring an emergency caesarean, which has complicated her comeback bid.
It has been a long frustrating road back for the lofty goal-attack, who has had just two weeks of full training with the Steel.
"After I had Cooper I was a little bit worried, because I definitely didn't plan to have an emergency caesarean, so that sort of held everything back with my training so I was starting to get a bit concerned," she said. "I always knew it was going to be hard, but it was just frustrating not being able to do anything for the first six weeks. My doctor actually told me I couldn't run for the first 12 weeks, but obviously that was going to be a bit ridiculous, so I started after six weeks just easing back in to it."
Wilkins said she can see a great deal of improvement in her strength and fitness already, but believes she still has a way to go.
"If I have to play a full game tomorrow I think I'd be able to do it well enough, but hitting that first weekend of April is where I'm aiming so I'd probably say I'm at 70 per cent."
This weekend's tournament, as well as a pre-season blitz in Sydney next month, will be key to getting Wilkins back up to scratch before the Steel's opening game of the season against the Central Pulse on April 4.
The 30-year-old said she hopes to be able to play at least one full game this weekend if called upon. But she may have had little choice in the matter, with Silver Ferns shooter Daneka Wipiiti unable to take part in this weekend's tournament after having her tonsils out.
It could mean Wilkins spends more time in the goal-shoot position this weekend, rather than her more customary role of goal-attack.
"That's thrown a bit of a spanner in the works," said Wilkins. "But I'm quite happy, I need to try and get some match fitness and I'm only going to get that from playing the games."
With Wilkins facing a race against the clock to get ready for the upcoming transtasman season, Wilson's comeback has been comparatively straightforward, which isn't to say it has been all plain sailing.
The former Silver Ferns skipper, who hasn't played since the final of the World Champs in 2007, began training for this season back in October, six months after the birth of her son Harper.
"I'm lucky that Harper's that much older so I've had a good amount of time to get back in to things," said Wilson. "It's probably been easier than expected, the first camp I went to in December I was like 'oh no, this is going to be horrific'. But once you take the court, it does come back quite quickly and I felt quite normal. And while it did hurt a bit more than it usually did, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would."
Despite being quite pleased with her progress to date, the athletic midcourter doesn't have huge expectations of her first hit-outs this weekend.
"My main goal is just to survive - I've already got the massage and physio appointments booked for Monday," she joked.
GAME TIME
Steel pre-season tournament, Queenstown Events Centre
Today
* Southern Steel v NSW Swifts
* Australian Institute of Sport v Central Pulse
* Australian Institute of Sport v NSW Swifts
* Southern Steel v Northern Mystics
Tomorrow
* Australian Institute of Sport v Northern Mystics
* NSW Swifts v Central Pulse
* Australian Institute of Sport v Southern Steel
* Central Pulse v Northern Mystics
Sunday
* NSW Swifts v Northern Mystics
* Australian Institute of Sport v Central Pulse
* Central Pulse v Southern Steel
