KEY POINTS:
If Temepara George's heart is not with the Silver Ferns, then her head should tell her to stand down from the world netball championships.
If the wily and often dazzling midcourter has already made her decision whether she is up to playing for the Ferns again, she's keeping
it to herself.
She has been talking to Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken since the New Zealanders returned from the series loss in Australia this week, but no one is revealing what she has said.
It will all become apparent on Monday, when Aitken names her 12 to prepare for November's world champs in Auckland. If George sticks with her heart, it's unlikely she will be at the Grand Tearoom of the Heritage Hotel on Monday afternoon when the team is announced.
The debate whether the Ferns desperately need George will go on well after the world tournament. But it's not her decision alone. Aitken may have to weigh up whether there is still room for George in this team she is rebuilding.
It's hard to look past her - for the past decade, George has been the embodiment of determination in the Ferns. "Bubby" has always made up for her lack of height with blistering speed and stunning aerial skills. She was the Ferns' pivotal player in the world championship final in 2003 - sent off, but still the star.
But in her last international series in England in May, George admitted she wasn't on top of her game and returned deflated.
Her passes weren't hitting the target - Irene van Dyk to be precise - and the Australian midcourters showed signs of figuring her out.
It was not a shock to netball's hierarchy when George withdrew from the double series with Jamaica and Australia for personal reasons. It was one of the worst-kept secrets in sport this year that the mother of two wanted to be closer to her partner, North Queensland Cowboys league player Sione Faumuina, who is living in Townsville.
George has been back home in Auckland, turning out for her old club side, Collegiate, during the week for a light run - it's a rarity for a Fern to play club these days.
Her Force coach and confidante, Yvonne Willering, says George has felt under pressure to return to international netball, but is likely to make her decision based on her personal situation. "Her decision won't be based on win or lose. It's based on where she's at, and what she wants to do with her life," Willering said.
In George's absence, Aitken has been fully supportive of her new centre, Laura Langman, who lacks the finer flourishes of an attacking midcourter but has the drive to hone those in the next three months.
If George is not reinstated in the Silver Ferns, Aitken is likely to stick with the 12 she had in the last five tests. The national selectors will take a long, hard look at their defensive options after a generally uneven performance against Australia.
The unpredictability of discarded goal keep Anna Scarlett should not be ruled out to add something different to the defence combinations, but the impulsive nature of her game can be the best and the worst of her.
Scarlett could be selected at the expense of Leana de Bruin, who was sometimes too tardy, yet at others (in particular extra time in the second test) unstoppable. Sheryl Scanlan has still a little way to go regaining her pre-baby fitness, but she is a proven team player with experience.
Despite the patchy showing of both goal attacks - Maria Tutaia and Jodi Te Huna - they are still the obvious choices to support van Dyk, but they have work to do on that support.
From September, the chosen Ferns will dedicate all to their world title defence, meeting in fortnightly training camps throughout the country.
Aitken has a card up her sleeve, with the ability to make a last-minute change, but she won't make any alterations lightly. Nor will she stick with players who aren't up to scratch. She will need to be ruthless.
Probable Silver Ferns
Irene van Dyk, Jodi Te Huna, Maria Tutaia, Paula Griffin, Adine Wilson (captain), Maree Bowden, Julie Seymour, Laura Langman, Sheryl Scanlan, Joline Henry, Leana de Bruin, Casey Williams.
