Netball: Evergreen Carter in line for cup recall

By RICHARD BOOCK

Veteran netballer Julie Carter may or may not play a part in the Sting's national league title defence this season. That much is certain.

The former New Zealand captain made a cameo appearance last year to help the Southland side lift the Coca-Cola Cup for the first time, and seems in line to be recalled again after injury worries in Robyn Broughton's shooting circle.

Broughton was non-committal when the subject was broached yesterday, saying she "wasn't sure" whether the 34-year-old Carter would be courtside for tonight's match against the Western Flyers, although she refused to rule out the possibility, given her side's thinly stretched attacking line.

The Sting have lost goal-shoot Debbie Munroe with a broken ankle and Silver Fern Donna Loffhagen is struggling with an elbow injury, leaving regular goal-shoot Janine Topia, back-up shoot Rachel Gill and utility-attack Kate Newson as the only fully fit shooting options with the playoffs looming.

Carter, who made her New Zealand debut in 1986 and officially retired seven years ago, made a fairytale comeback in last season's final against the Otago Rebels, and remains registered with the Sting franchise for the 2000 season.

"Donna [Loffhagen] will probably play despite her injury," Broughton said yesterday. "Our advice is that playing won't cause any more damage, but she'll have to cope with a degree of pain and that can be a distraction.

"I don't know about Julie. She's registered and eligible but it's more a matter of whether we can get by with what we've got. She's a possibility but I wouldn't want to say much more than that."

In terms of semifinal placings the match in Invercargill carries little weight because the Sting have already qualified as top seeds.

The second-placed Shakers will attempt to secure a home semifinal when they square off against the Diamonds at Unitec Stadium tonight in a match which will showcase the world's two best shooters - South African Irene van Dyk and Jamaican Elaine Davis.

Van Dyk, who is spearheading the Shakers' campaign, leads the league in shooting with a 93 per cent success rate (327 from 352), while Davis has stood out despite the Diamonds' inconsistency, and is breathing down her rival's neck with 89 per cent (267 from 301).

Diamonds coach Tania Karauria said yesterday that her side would not leave the responsibility of shutting down van Dyk to two or three specific players, but would instead try to apply pressure throughout the court in an attempt to disrupt the quality of her service.

Perhaps the most significant game of the round will be staged this evening in Dunedin when the fourth-placed Canterbury Flames play the Rebels in a match which will go a long way towards deciding the last two semifinalists.

The Rebels need to win both their remaining round-robin games to sneak into the playoffs, but the Flames could secure their future with a win tonight, and could even press for a home semifinal if they knock over the Cometz next weekend.

The two bottom-placed sides, the Magic and the Cometz, play for pride tomorrow at Papatoetoe.