Netball: Longer seasons taking toll on top players

Joline Henry. Photo / Getty Images

Northern Mystics defender Joline Henry has joined a growing list of top-name players likely to be sidelined for the opening weekend of the transtasman netball championship as franchises on both sides of the Tasman count the toll of the increased demands on international players.

The ANZ Championship begins on Saturday with the Mystics taking on last year's beaten grand finalists the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Auckland.

It marks a slightly earlier start to the season than in previous years, with the organisers pushing the opening round forward two weeks to accommodate the national programmes of the respective countries in the all-important Commonwealth Games year.

Henry, though, could have done with an extra two weeks to prepare for the season, with the versatile defender still recovering from a calf strain she suffered last month after returning from the brutal national camp in Brisbane.

Mystics coach Te Aroha Keenan said it is disappointing not to have their new star defender on board for the season-opener, but the club has to take a long-term view of the situation.

"We want to do what will benefit Joline, not just the franchise," said Keenan. "We're just playing it really softly softly, she's been in training but we don't want to rush her. She's back doing court work, but if anything she's a week away.

"We would love to have her there, but the reality is we've got to last the full 13 weeks and if she gets injured again we could be looking at another six-week break."

The Mystics have been hit hard by injury in the pre-season, with Maria Tutaia (hand, ankle), Cathrine Latu (wrist), Jenny-May Coffin (calf) and Althea Byfield (quad) all succumbing to niggles in the condensed build-up to the start of the season. But Keenan said with the exception of Henry, her squad are available for selection this Saturday.

The Auckland side's injury plight is symptomatic of what is happening around the country and across the Tasman as elite players grapple with the increased demands of the semi-professional environment.

The worst-hit is Southern Steel defender Sheryl Scanlan, who has battled with calf problems since December and expected to miss at least six weeks of the competition.

In Australia, NSW Swifts shooter Catherine Cox, Adelaide Thunderbirds defender Mo'onia Gerrard and Melbourne Vixens stars Sharelle McMahon and Julie Corletto are all facing a race against time to make the startline.

Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken said she had noted the abundance of players sporting strapping at pre-season tournaments in Queenstown and Sydney.

"There are quite a few niggles around," she said. "I think it probably is a reflection on the demands of the longer seasons. For the girls it is affecting they are basically professional, they go from one contract to the other.

"It's a tough one to get the balance right, because if you ease off too much you fall behind."

Aitken's Australian counterpart Norma Plummer will also be keeping a nervous eye on the walking wounded.

Plummer last year accused the Australian franchises of taxing her players too heavily in the pre-season leading to a high attrition rate later in the year during the international season.

Privately, many coaches are pointing the finger right back at Plummer and questioning the value of last month's tour to the UK, which saw several players return with niggling injuries.

Melbourne Vixens coach Julie Hoornweg was choosing her words carefully, but believes the growing international commitments are leading to more and more players being injured.

Hoornweg said the ANZ Championship season is actually shorter than that of their old domestic league. However, since the advent of the transtasman competition, the international season has become significantly longer.

"Over the last five years the international commitments have been scaled up. Certainly the training camps are much longer and they are playing a lot more tests.

"So we probably need to make sure that we're not asking these athletes over a long period of time to do more without adequate recovery and rehabilitation."