Netball: Much at stake in centre-court battle

By JULIE ASH

When the Diamonds take on the Force in this weekend's round of the national league, there is more than just the battle of the bridge at stake.

Also on the line at the North Shore Events Centre tomorrow afternoon are valuable competition points and the chance to impress Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken and her selectors.

Aitken has been courtside at most games in the National Bank-sponsored cup competition, eyeing up talent for the series against Barbados in June/July followed by the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

One match-up she will have her eye on is Temepara Clark against Anna Rowberry.

Both have started the season impressively.

Clark played out of her skin in the Force's opening match against the Canterbury Flames, which she backed up with solid performances against the Capital Shakers and Western Flyers.

Rowberry has again been the star in the Diamonds side, dominating her opposition in every game to date.

Intriguingly, when asked where the other's strengths lie, Rowberry said: "Temepara has amazing vision and she's very fast. I'll definitely have to have my running shoes on."

Said Clark: "Anna is a very talented player. She is very fast and has great vision throughout the court."

Both clearly have their sights set on the Commonwealth Games, but competition for a place in the mid-court is tight.

On February's tour of Jamaica, Aitken opted for Clark, Canterbury's Julie Seymour and Waikato's Jenny-May Coffin.

She also had the option of using Otago's Adine Harper and Lesley Nicol at centre and even Canterbury's Belinda Colling at wing attack.

Rowberry and experienced Waikato player Amigene Metcalfe were left behind.

"Obviously I am still playing at this level so I'd love to be selected for the Commonwealth Games, and to do that I just have to play as good as I can," Rowberry said.

Following in the footsteps of her ex-Silver Fern mum Brenda, Rowberry first made the national team in 1994.

"I was really excited when I got in the team, but Marg Foster, one of my mum's friends, had been dropped. So mum was happy for me, but disappointed for Marg," she said.

After 55 games for New Zealand, including two world championships and a Commonwealth Games, Rowberry was axed in 2000.

She was dropped because she was just too fast - the only speed Rowberry knew was flat out, which often brought errors into her game.

But more than a year later, the 26-year-old is confident her game has changed.

"I have had to look at how to feed a stationary shooter," Rowberry admitted. "When you do have a tall shooter it is a bit different."

After three rounds of the national league the Diamonds are fourth on the table, but improving in every game - something that was evident in their last match against the Sting.

"Individual errors cost us in the end, but our structure wasn't too bad," said Rowberry, one of the most talked about and popular players in the chat room on Netball New Zealand's website.

"The Force are obviously going well. They have won their last two games quite convincingly and Daneka [Wipiiti] is playing well, although she is just one of several players on court."

As a youngster at Otara's Tangaroa College, Clark played every sport she could before settling on netball.

Surprisingly, the pint-sized player started out as a goal keep before "everyone grew and I didn't." That meant a move to the mid-court.

Her speed and ball skills won her a place in the New Zealand team in 1996 where she sat on the bench for a series against Australia.

She was dropped from the Silver Ferns the same year, but won her place back four years later.

"My first game was against Australia and we beat them," Clark said.

"It was really weird, we were so focused on ourselves. They were at the back of our minds, but it was about us."

Clark said she would dearly love to compete in the Commonwealth Games, but for now her focus was on the Force. She hoped that after three years in the side it would be third time lucky for the national title.

The Force are at the top of the table on 12 points - the Diamonds have six - but Clark said the approach was simply one match at a time.

"I think they have got strengths throughout the court.

"But this year it is so close - you go into each game not knowing how it is going to turn out."

In the remaining games this weekend, the third-placed Sting host the Shakers in Invercargill tonight, while the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, who are second on eight points, play the Western Flyers in Hamilton tomorrow.

JUST THE FACTS

ANNA ROWBERRY

Age: 26

Born: Christchurch

Height: 1.74cm

Positions: Centre, wing attack

Test caps: 55

Job: PE teacher

Playing history: Silver Fern 1994-2000, Otago Rebels 1998-99, Auckland Diamonds 2000-2002

TEMEPARA CLARK

Age: 26

Born: Auckland

Status: Married to Wayne with children Jusdean (8) and
Erin-Wayne (4)

Height: 1.67cm

Positions: Centre, wing attack

Test caps: 21

Job: Office Administrator

Playing history: Silver Fern 1996, 2000-2002; Diamonds 1998, Counties Manukau Cometz 1999, Force 2000-2002