Netball: Colling could be forced to shift upcourt

By RICHARD BOOCK

Belinda Colling's international netballing future may hinge on a positional switch to the mid-court.

The established goal attack warmed the bench last weekend as shooter Donna Loffhagen turned in an outstanding game against England, combining so well with Irene van Dyk that New Zealand won the first test by a record margin.

Colling is expected to receive her chance to shine with van Dyk in tonight's second test at Palmerston North, although it is doubtful she can make the same sort of impact as Loffhagen, given her propensity for passing rather than shooting.

It is this ability to distribute, however, that has marked the double international as an option further up the court, something former Silver Ferns coach Leigh Gibbs recognised when she played Colling at wing attack in her test debut against Australia.

New Zealand coach Yvonne Willering can see the merit in Colling exploring the move, but said it needed to be addressed at provincial or franchise level before being tried in the test arena.

"Belinda's expressed an interest in moving, and to be honest, she has all the hallmarks of a good wing attack," Willering said yesterday.

"She's a tremendous feeder and distributor; she has excellent court vision and she's very able at reading the game, so she's got a lot going for her.

"But I wouldn't want to start changing her game too much at this level. If she's interested in making the transition it's something she should probably look at at franchise level first."

Not that Colling would have everything her own way at wing attack anyway. Incumbent Adine Harper has been one of the Ferns' best-performed players this season, but Willering possibly feels she needs more quality back-up, particularly in the cut-and-thrust of a transtasman contest.

Although there was not much cut-and-thrust evident at Stadium Southland last weekend when New Zealand crushed the tourists by 48 goals, Willering is adamant that England will prove more competitive at the Manawatu Sports Stadium tonight, and has put her squad on high alert.

"I expect England will be a lot tougher in the next test," Willering said.

"In Invercargill, we had just come off the Tri-Nations Series, there was huge support for us in Southland and we caught them out with our sheer pace.

"Everything was in our favour and England ended up on the receiving end of it, but I wouldn't count on it happening like that again.

"I'd imagine they will be trying to slow us down in the second test, and we will naturally attempt to counter that and retain our pace."

Willering said much of the time in Palmerston North had been spent on the practice floor or in front of the videotape of the first test, and she rejected suggestions that her players might struggle to lift themselves after such an easy win.

"It hasn't been hard to keep the players motivated because it's not just about the score," she said.

"It's about our own performance, our development and our progress.

"Whatever the result, there's always lots of areas which need attention, and it's been no different this week, despite the big win."

New Zealand: Bernice Mene (capt), Irene van Dyk, Donna Loffhagen, Belinda Colling, Adine Harper, Temepara George, Jenny-May Coffin, Vic Edward, Lesley Nicol, Sheryl Clarke, Linda Vagana, Vilimaina Davu.

England: Olivia Murphy (capt), Amanda Newton, Jo Steed, Alex Astle, Jess Garland, Ama Agbeze, Tracey Neville, Karen Aspinall, Anna Newell, Deborah Jones, Chioma Ezeogu, Naomi Siddall, Geva Mentor.