Never in Ruth Aitken's three years as Silver Ferns netball coach has she had so much choice.
The former Waikato coach said the return of Belinda Colling from Scotland to bid for a place in the Commonwealth Games team in Melbourne early next year meant there was now an embarrassment
of riches for the job of partnering Irene van Dyk in the shooting circle.
"It's funny how things turn quite quickly," she said at the national championships in Dunedin.
"I think it was last year people were saying there's an under-supply of them, but I think the shooting end has certainly improved both in terms of the ones that are there.
"Maria (Tutaia) and Anna (Senio) have really stepped up and Jodi (Te Huna) with the opportunity she's had, and then Belinda (Colling) coming back into the frame just keeps things interesting."
With Te Huna showing she has the goods against Australia in June and the return of Colling, there is now similar depth at the shooting end to that in traditionally strong areas of the midcourt and defence.
"I think there's 19 current or former Silver Ferns that are available for selection at this point in time so work out the maths from that and there's some big selection decisions to get down to a team of 12.
"I think there's some really good depth. There's a great balance of young ones coming through and certainly on the back of the world youth cup win those young girls are showing they're starting to take another step."
With another one-off test against Australia on October 29, the selectors will select up to 22 players for a trial next month.
- NZPA
