Netball: Wheel spins for Rowberry

By RICHARD BOOCK

Anna Rowberry's wheel of fortune continued to spin wildly yesterday when she was named captain of the Silver Ferns for the test series against South Africa.

The mid-court specialist made headlines after being selected to play for New Zealand in 1994 as an 18-year-old, and since then has been there and done that, including being dropped for 18 months by former coach Yvonne Willering.

Recalled this year following Ruth Aitken's introduction as coach, Rowberry drew warm praise for her performances against Barbados and at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

She is no stranger to the captaincy role, having shouldered the responsibility for the Otago Rebels, the Auckland Diamonds and the New Zealand A team - where her leadership skills caught the eye of Aitken this year.

"It was a huge surprise," Rowberry said yesterday.

"I was over the moon when Ruth rang me to ask me if I would do it.

"I mean, I feel very privileged to be back in the Silver Ferns squad, so to be captain of such a talented group of players is something really special.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Accused during her early years of turning over too much possession in her quest for pace through the court, Rowberry apparently matured noticeably during her time on the outer and can now lend her hand to a measured, controlled tempo as well.

On top of that, her powerful passing is well suited to New Zealand's transition game, and her ability to play in all three mid-court positions means she is likely to be leading from the front, rather than spending much time on the bench.

For all that, complicating her promotion is the small fact that the Silver Ferns are in the midst of a major rebuilding phase, after no less than five full internationals opted to retire at different times during the year.

When she runs out on to the North Shore Events Centre as captain for the first time tonight, it will be with a new attack end and an altered mid-court, a situation which will undoubtedly make her task a bit more tricky.

"I guess the experience I've gained from being in the Ferns for the past eight years or so will help me in that regard," she said.

"It's not an unfamiliar role for me, I've captained several teams before, and although this is the biggest job of the lot, I'm really looking forward to it."

To get the nod from Aitken, Rowberry had to be first rated ahead of other contenders for the role and also had to be seen as an automatic starter because there was apparently no desire to have the skipper sitting on the bench.

Of the other contenders, goal-attack Belinda Colling was seen as a strong personality and a good leader.

However, the fact that she could not be guaranteed a place in the line-up may have counted against her.

And although there was also a lot of support for Lesley Nicol, netball officials were ultimately reluctant to burden her with the job again and risk jeopardising her sterling form over the past couple of years.

Aitken said yesterday that she had several good-quality candidates for the role but felt Rowberry was the ideal option, having shown the necessary maturity and form over the past 12 months.

"As far as I'm concerned, the captain has to have the form and deserve to be there, and Anna meets that criteria and more - she's an outstanding player and an outstanding leader.

"I worked closely with Anna in the New Zealand A side this year and was always impressed by the way she went about being the captain.

"She leads from the front, she has a tremendous work ethic and I can only admire how she's fought back from such adversity."