Australian training camp this week

Australia’s netballers flew into Canberra on Wednesday evening for the first of several intensive training camps leading into next year’s Commonwealth Games.

These camps also double as an opportunity for the Australian netball selectors to observe and then subsequently select the players who will wear the green and gold next March.

Sydney Swifts defender, Alison Broadbent, is looking forward to the camp and is confident that all players under consideration for the Commonwealth Games team will be given an opportunity to impress the selectors as well as national coach Norma Plummer.

“We will not be taking anything for granted at this camp, Norma [Plummer] has invited everyone in for a reason which means everyone is under consideration, so we will all be out to prove why we should be in the squad,” Broadbent told the Netball Australia website.

During the camp, the players will participate in regular match play and Broadbent knows that she will have to keep herself in top condition as match play will be a back to back situation with time set aside during each day of the day for this.

“We have a lot of match play scheduled for the camp and this is where you need to be able to prove you can perform under pressure situations and back it up the following day, much like the schedule at international tournaments,” said Broadbent.

All the players at this camp are looking to one aim only, to be selected to represent Australia as a netballer at the Commonwealth Games and Broadbent acknowledges this.

“This camp is what we have been putting our lives on hold for, waiting for this particular moment to see if we have made the cut.”

“Once the squad is named, there is no going back.”

Other than those players who are in the open squad, the selectors have also invited several players who they believe will represent Australian in the future.

The players invited include former Melbourne Kestrels defender Janine Ilitch who has returned to regular training after the giving birth in September, Sydney Swifts midcourter Kimberlee Green and Adelaide Thunderbirds goaler Natalie Medhurst.

Mo’onia Gerrard, who injured her knee against New Zealand in June this year, and AIS Canberra Darters goalkeeper Susan Fuhrman will be present at the camp as part of recovery from full knee reconstructions.

Melbourne Kestrels captain Cynna Neele has withdrawn from selection for the Commonwealth Games due to personal reasons.

The final team of 12 players to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games will be named on February 10 next year.

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