Netball: Dalton surprised at recall

Three weeks ago Tania Dalton was holidaying in Spain with her two young children Tayla and Charlie.

Based at her brother's home in Madrid, she had been to Valencia and checked out the America's Cup venue, had indulged in a fair bit of shopping and generally just kicked back as you do when you go on holiday.

In 11 days' time the setting couldn't be any different for the 34-year-old when she steps into the cauldron of an Australia and New Zealand netball series.

She was named yesterday as the replacement for pregnant Belinda Colling, who withdrew from the side last month.

Dalton, who last played for New Zealand in the 2003 world championships, admits her recall was a surprise.

Going into the national championships, she wasn't even sure how much game time she would get for Southland, having only returned from Spain in early September.

"I never ever thought I'd make it back in," she said.

"I am very excited and feel very privileged and proud."

Although her selection does highlight New Zealand's lack of experienced shooters, the future is rosier.

Jodi Te Huna is almost fully fit and will train with the Silver Ferns during the Australian series, while Paula Griffin, Tanya Lund and Jade Topia have all been included in the New Zealand A team, which provides them with a platform to develop their game and push for a spot in next year's world championship team.

The difficulty Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken had going into this series was that on Colling's withdrawal she was left with just two shooters - Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia.

While there is no doubting Tutaia's talent, she is only 19 and has shown some vulnerability under pressure, such as Saturday night's final where she landed only 68 per cent of her shots.

Going into the Australian series Aitken had to select a player she knew she could put on against the bruising Australian defence.

Throwing in newly selected New Zealand squad member Paula Griffin would have been too big an ask.

Australia-born Lund was widely tipped to get the call up, however her performance in the national championships for the Bay of Plenty were mediocre and expecting her to go on against Australia would have been too tough.

"The reality is we have a three shooter combination in our team so you could be two minutes away from actually being out there on court," Aitken said.

"While I believe she [Griffin] will get there definitely I think it is important that we do provide enough preparation for that.

"It is an environment where resilience is very important and I think that is something Tania has bucket loads of."

While Dalton is generally seen as a goal shoot, her feeding skills and mobility make her just as competent at goal attack, which is where she will play against Australia, if needed, alongside van Dyk.

"We all know what Australia are like," Dalton said. "But for me, I like the pressure, the more the better."

Tania Dalton

* Born: Auckland, November 26, 1971.
* Lives: North Shore
* Positions: GS, GA
* Height: 1.84m
* Test caps: 10
* Career highlights:
1996: Silver Ferns debut, last played in the 2003 world championships in Jamaica.
2002-06: Southern Sting

New Zealand v Australia

* October 12: Wellington
* October 14: Auckland
* October 16: Christchurch