Netball: The net files

Geva Mentor. Photo / Getty Images

Thunderbirds in a flap

Who is the mystery New Zealand franchise chasing Thunderbirds star shooter Carla Borrego?

The Thunderbirds are in a flap over an alleged illegal approach made to Borrego, their key strike weapon, in a bold attempt to lure her across the Tasman next season.

League rules stipulate teams can only enter negotiations with players from rival teams after the ANZ Championship grand final.

"We are furious at the breach of rules and there needs to be consequences," Netball South Australia chief executive Stephanie Greene said.

Greene believes one of the five New Zealand franchises are behind the illegal approach, however Borrego refuses to name the team in question.

The ANZ Championship office said they will not be investigating because the Thunderbirds have not been able to provide them with any concrete information on the details of the approach - or if indeed there even was one.

It seems it is more likely this huge offer from a Kiwi team that landed on Borrego's lap right when she was in the middle of contract negotiations was fabricated in an attempt to drive up her asking price with Adelaide.

Commentators or spies?

Australian broadcaster Channel 10's initiative to bring in current stars of the game to do sideline commentary may be proving popular with fans, but some of the coaches in the league are less than impressed.

Over the course of the season we've seen the likes of Geva Mentor, Natalie Medhurst and Catherine Cox getting dolled up to help front the Australian coverage.

This has led to complaints from some Australian coaches who are upset that rival players have the opportunity to listen in on team huddles at the quarter breaks.

They argue it puts these players in a privileged position being able to hear the full exchange between players and coaches - information they can then pass on to their own teams.

There doesn't seem to be the same level of outrage among the New Zealand coaches, just a general feeling of bemusement about what these current players can actually add to the coverage.

After all, how can they really offer any impartial analysis when they may have to match up against the same players the following week?

Travel taking its toll

Is the demanding travel schedule this season responsible for the level of injuries? Australian coach Norma Plummer seems to think so.

In her latest edition of Plummer's Point - a weekly column she writes on the Netball Australia website - Plummer bemoans the amount of travel forced on the Australian sides compared with the New Zealand sides.

With the condensed season, Plummer believes this puts the Australian teams at a disadvantage as their recovery time is more limited. She also suspects this has contributed to serious injuries to Diamonds' captain Sharelle McMahon and midcourter Lauren Nourse.

"I've been looking at the ANZ Championship season and we still have Australian teams doing far more travel than NZ teams ... in fact it's pretty soft for NZ as they don't do nearly the hours in the air compared to the Aussie teams.

"I have spoken to our athlete wellbeing manager and it would be a good study to get the comparisons. After the major injuries to two starting seven Diamonds players ... has fatigue become a factor?"

This argument doesn't account for the fact that the injury toll is no worse than last season, when five players suffered ruptured ACLs and one torn Achilles. Plummer also seems to overlook this season three of the five major injuries have been to players from New Zealand sides, with Mystics' midcourter Grace Rasmussen and the Tactix' Phillipa Finch and Kasey Evering all suffering season ending knee injuries.

Tweet of the week

Melbourne Vixens shooter Kate Beveridge is clearly an admirer of almost-Fern Cathrine Latu (should she be dubbed the new waity Catey?).

"Catherine [sic] Latu I want your ball skills" Beveridge tweeted.

To which her Australian teammate Mo'onia Gerrard replied: "Can't coach it".

Jamaican dope

When a Jamaican athlete is implicated in a drugs scandal, the immediate thought is that will be of the recreational variety.

But Jamaican captain Simone Forbes is awaiting the outcome of a very unusual doping hearing.

The 29-year-old returned a positive test last month after the drug clomiphene, which is listed on WADA's list of banned substances as a masking agent, was found in her system.

It is believed the drug is also used to treat fertility issues.

Forbes hasn't trained with the Jamaican team since being notified of the test and, if found guilty, it could end the crafty goal attack's chances of participating in July's World Championships in Singapore.