Netball: Evergreen aiming to polish Diamonds

By JULIE ASH

Ignore the "old bird" under the goal and focus on the up-and-coming talent is the message Leonie Leaver wants to get across as she prepares for her Diamonds comeback.

The 36-year-old played for the Diamonds in the first two years of the national league in 1998-99, and she quipped that she was not hoping for a Silver Ferns recall. She just wants to help Auckland to get back on their feet in the newly-named National Bank Cup competition.

Leaver turned out in 17 internationals for New Zealand and said that as a mother of three, she did not expect to return to the game at the highest level.

"I had [Diamonds coach] Georgie [Salter] hounding me to come back.

"She basically kept ringing me and in the end I thought, why not, I enjoy netball, it is my passion.

"I really want to get Auckland back up there, we haven't done well for so long. I want to bring some young shooters through. I don't want to be in the limelight. I am here for the young ones."

As she has said so many times before, this will be her last year playing, although the teams she coaches at the College Rifles club vouch that it does not take much to get Leaver on the court.

"When one of the team is sick, the old bird gets out on court," she laughed. "I carry my shoes around just in case."

The Diamonds finished seventh in last year's competition and Leaver said they are not expecting miracles when this year's competition starts next weekend.

"We hope to make the top four, but we know it is going to be hard."

The Sting, Force and Flames are her picks for the top teams, but she does not underestimate some of the less-favoured sides, such as the Cometz.

"The Cometz will give all the teams a run for their money, which will be good for the league," she said.

"It comes down to team unity. One team can be full of stars and not combine well, whereas another team might have no stars but combine well, and at the end of the day it is about unity."

Leaver said part of the reason the Diamonds had not done so well in the past was because they had to compete for players with the Northern Force, the Counties Manukau Cometz and even the Bay of Plenty/Waikato Magic.

"It is just a few minutes to North Harbour or to Counties. If you look at the Force and the Cometz, most of their players are Auckland players.

"If we combined we could have one exceptional team."

However, Leaver does concede there are advantages in having three sides in the competition, one being that it is a great breeding ground for young players.

"Auckland have to look at our up-and-coming players. There is a time when you have to look at building a team."

Besides Leaver, the Diamonds' strengths lie in the former Silver Fern Anna Rowberry and national under-21 players Phillipa Te Hira, Kimberley Horton and Rachel Rasmussen.

"I think Rachel Rasmussen is the next Bernice Mene, she is a great young player."

Leaver is looking forward to the Diamonds' season opener against the Manawatu franchise, the Western Flyers, in Auckland next Saturday night, and reinforced the old adage that no opponents are taken lightly.

While mum is on court next weekend, the three Leaver children may be left to hang out with dad.

"In a way, having a family has changed my approach to the game. When I was young I was there for myself, but now my life has changed. I am there for the team."