KEY POINTS:
A move back to Auckland could pave the way for former Silver Fern defender Vilimaina Davu to link up with the Northern Mystics in the new transtasman league.
Davu, who was dumped as coach of Fiji late last year, is moving to Auckland to "further her career", reports
the Fiji Times.
The former Fiji player-coach led the national side to a disappointing ninth place at last year's world championships in Waitakere, missing out on the quarter-finals for the first time.
Davu played under Mystics coach Yvonne Willering at the Force last year and the pair have a long association.
Willering said yesterday she had been in touch with the former Fijian and New Zealand international regularly but nothing had been decided.
"It's a bit too soon to tell at this stage. She's just looking where everything is at and I'm just giving her a bit of time to do that really," she said.
"It just depends on where she sits with her life. She was with us last year, I appreciate that, but she's just really sorting out where she wants to be and what she wants to do.'
Willering said they would be leaving a space open in the squad that Davu could potentially fill. The Mystics plan to name only 10 or 11 players initially before exploring the possibility of applying to Netball New Zealand to include a second ineligible or import player. The Auckland franchise have already signed former Force shooter Catherine Latu, who played for Samoa at the world champs, as their first allowable ineligible player
Mystics chief executive Mark Cameron said the franchise hoped to have the bulk of their squad signed by the middle of next week and would then look at a range of options, including Davu.
"Vili is just one of the many players we can choose from in terms of the 12th player - there are other ineligible and New Zealand players in the frame," he said.
After experiencing long delays in establishing a collective agreement, New Zealand franchises were given the go-ahead to start contracting players only at the start of the week.
Cameron said the franchise had already signed a number of players but along with Latu would confirm only Auckland sisters Rachel and Grace Rasmussen had been contracted.
The pair had received strong interest from the Central Pulse franchise.
The Mystics have also appointed an assistant coach, who they hope to announce some time next week pending approval from Netball NZ.
