Netball: Views differ on merging rivals

By JULIE ASH

With two rounds remaining in the national league, one thing is certain: the Counties Manukau Cometz are not going to make the semis and it is highly likely the Auckland/Waitakere Diamonds will not either.

Since the introduction of the franchise competition in 1998, both sides have failed to impress.

The Diamonds finished fourth in 1998 and 1999, sixth in 2000 and seventh last year.

The Cometz finished sixth in 1998 and 1999, and at the bottom of the table for the last two years.

The Diamonds have been competitive this year, but the same cannot be said of the Cometz, who have not won a game since May 2000.

Both teams say they are doing "okay" financially, but agree it takes a lot of hard work to run a franchise, which raises the question: why do the two not merge?

The Cometz include New Zealand Academy squad members Allison Toi and Nicolette Ropati, and New Zealand under-21 player Channelle Lundon.

The Diamonds have New Zealand squad member Anna Rowberry and Academy member Rachel Rasmussen.

Put together, the two teams would form a reasonably strong unit.

Diamonds board member Julie Coney said there was some talk of a Northern Force and Diamonds merger after the first year of the competition, but Auckland decided not to proceed.

"There hasn't been any talk about the Cometz," she said.

"But geographically the most logical merger would be the Cometz and the Diamonds."

Coney believes there are too many teams in the Auckland area.

"Although we have a great player base, we don't have a great pool of elite players," she said.

"If you want the elite to become stronger then you have fewer teams, but if you want to widen the base you keep a number of teams in it.

"But they could get rid of two teams and introduce a transtasman side."

She said that financially the Diamonds had "pretty much just got by."

"We haven't lost money, but have probably just broken even because we have spent money promoting the Diamonds."

Cometz board chairman Bruce Pulman said there had been no discussion of a possible merger within the franchise.

"We are more than happy with the way we are," he said. "We want to develop players in the area. Although we are at the bottom of the table we won't be there for ever."

The Cometz have struggled in the past financially, but this year good crowds and sponsorship support has put them in a better fiscal position.

"I don't think the board would be in favour of joining with Auckland," Pulman said. "We have spent a lot of time putting the franchise together. We believe in what we are doing here."

Pulman believes the population of the Auckland area warrants three teams.

A merger would not be the first in the competition.

In 1999, the Waikato Wildcats and the Bay of Plenty Magic combined to form the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic.

Magic board chairwoman Judith Taane said it had been a successful merger.

"It has worked for us, but it may not work for others," she said. "It has encouraged development in the two regions and we are able to share a lot of resources."

Taane said the Wildcats and the Magic finished second-to-last and last respectively in the first year of the competition, which inspired the merger.

"There was talk that Netball New Zealand wanted to reduce the competition from 10 teams to nine, but the idea to merge came from the Magic," she said.

"There were some concerns about the logistics of it all, but Bay of Plenty had good sponsorship and we didn't, and we both brought good administrators into it, so it has been excellent."

Netball New Zealand marketing manager Jeanette Paine said the franchises were contracted to NNZ for another year, but the national body was open to ideas when it reviewed the competition in August.

"It is important to review the competition each year and consult with the franchises," she said.

In this weekend's penultimate round of the National Bank-sponsored league, the top-of-the-table Southern Sting face the third-placed Canterbury Flames, the Flyers play the Shakers, the Rebels meet the Diamonds in Dunedin and the Force play the Cometz at the North Shore Events Centre tomorrow.

Only the Sting and the Force are certainties for the semifinals.