This week in netball: SSN training partners announced as Africa Netball Cup begins
THE netball action never stops, with plenty happening both on and off the court over the past week. Staying close to home first up, a number of Suncorp Super Netball clubs have confirmed their first training partners for the upcoming 2022 season, with Melbourne Vixens and NSW Swifts the latest to join the growing group. Just West Coast Fever and Adelaide Thunderbirds are yet to announce their training partners, with GIANTS Netball leading the pack with a whopping eight signings including five newcomers to the program.
In Windhoek, Namibia, the Pent Series between Namibia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Kenya saw the Uganda She-Cranes come away with a clean sweep and the title. The Africa Netball Cup began not long after, with Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania joining the aforementioned countries in Windhoek for the eight day event. South Africa, Uganda and Malawi currently lead the pack with three wins and zero losses apiece, with plenty of intriguing results across the board thus far especially across the lower-ranked nations.
We compared and contrasted two pairs of players across the week, first looking at goal keepers, Strathclyde Sirens’ Towera Vinkhumbo and Queensland Firebirds’ Eboni Usoro-Brown, before delving into goal attacks, Central Pulse’s Tiana Metuarau and Northern Stars’ Jamie Hume. Meanwhile, we did a deep dive into GIANTS midcourter Amy Parmenter, with the wing defence boasting an extensive highlights reel and earning Australian Diamonds selection earlier this year. We also look into what Parmenter could add to the Diamonds, with factors such as lack of experience potentially working against her for game-day selection. Speaking of the Diamonds, we also posed the hypothetical of what it means for the Diamonds and New Zealand Silver Ferns in the case that the Constellation Cup cannot go ahead, as ongoing travel restrictions and requirements make it tough to schedule.
Additionally, we ran through an early look of the upcoming 2022 Suncorp Super Netball, ANZ Premiership and Vitality Netball Superleague seasons and whether the reigning premiers could go back-to-back, with plenty to look forward to across the three major domestic netball competitions.
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Suncorp Super Netball
Australian Diamonds: Player analysis – Amy Parmenter
First crop of 2022 training partners announced
International
International netball updates: Africa Netball Cup to begin // Africa Netball Cup – midway point
Compare the Pair: Towera Vinkhumbo and Eboni Usoro-Brown // Tiana Metuarau and Jamie Hume
What if: The Constellation Cup cannot go ahead in 2021
2022 early look: SSN/ANZP/VNSL
Centre Pass Podcast
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