Netball: Colling could be winging in

By RICHARD BOOCK


Maybe Leigh Gibbs was right after all.

It was four years ago that the former New Zealand netball coach opted to start Belinda Colling at wing-attack, and - on the evidence of recent offerings - her much-maligned vision might have been right on the money.

Certainly, as the Silver Ferns prepare for tonight's second test against the World Seven, the performance of their attack-end looms as a game-deciding factor after the problems experienced in Newcastle last month, and again in the first test at Wellington.

In those showdowns, neither of the front-line wing-attacks proved capable of coping with the early defensive pressure, with Anna Rowberry benched after a shocker against Australia, and Temepara George faring little better before being pulled on Saturday.

Not only have the players in question struggled for timing and form, but coach Yvonne Willering has also appeared unsure about who to back, and clearly erred when she started George, not to mention Belinda Charteris, in the opening test against the world side.

Whatever her thoughts on the mid-court tonight, the nagging suspicion remains that neither wing-attack option is shaping as a long-term solution, and that the key may really be held by the recuperating Colling, who has played the bulk of her tests at goal-attack.

There are at least a couple of reasons why the 24-year-old dual international might be considered in a mid-court role.

For a start, she has always been a reluctant shooter, preferring to rely on superb passing and robust positional work rather than looking for goal, and as a result has placed extra pressure on shooting partners such as Donna Loffhagen and former Rebel Jo Steed.

And then there is the matter of rising star Adine Harper, who in the space of a handful of games has impressed as a goal-attack of rare class, showing impressive shooting range, an instinct for goal, and an ever-increasing understanding with new goal-shoot Irene van Dyk.

Presuming Willering is loathe to separate the blossoming combination, a fully-fit Colling would seem to offer more value outside the shooting circle, where her vision and distribution skills may go some way towards providing the missing link in New Zealand's transition game.

Yet to recover match-fitness after knee surgery in May, the Olympic basketballer understands the need to vary the pace of the ball through the court, and because of that tends to protect and utilise possession more than any of the incumbents.

However, the Ferns will have to overcome the world selection without her services tonight if they are to avoid slumping to an irreparable 2-0 deficit in the three-test Fisher and Paykel Series.

Jill McIntosh's side has already lost crack goal-keep Liz Ellis to national league commitments across the Tasman, and fellow Australians Kathryn Harby, Sharelle McMahon and Shelley O'Donnell will follow tomorrow, seriously depleting the world team before the final test on Saturday.

The loss of Ellis, in particular, could be a relief to the New Zealanders, but with outstanding Fijian goal-keep Vilimaina Davu, and South African defender Leana Du Plooy waiting in the wings, their task in unlikely to prove any easier.

New Zealand: Bernice Mene (captain), Linda Vagana, Belinda Charteris, Anna Veronese, Lesley Nicol, Juilie Seymour, Temepara George, Anna Rowberry, Adine Harper, Tania Nicholson, Irene van Dyk.

World Seven: Kathryn Harby (captain), Sharelle McMahon, Shelley O'Donnell (Australia), Alex Astle, Tracey Neville, Helen Lonsdale, Olivia Murphy, Amanda Newton (England), Elaine Davis (vice-captain), Nadine Bryan (Jamaica), Rosena Magola, Leana Du Plooy, (South Africa), Vilimaina Davu (Fiji).