Netballers selected to trial for Trans-Tasman tournament

Twenty-four of the most exciting young netballers in New Zealand have been selected to trial for the New Zealand Secondary Schools (NZSS) team to contest the Trans-Tasman U19 Netball Tournament in May.

NNZ Emerging Talent selectors will pick the NZSS team at a trial camp in mid-April at Epsom Girls Grammar School in Auckland. The team will be coached by Julie Seymour and Mary Jane Araroa who are both identified as talented coaches in the NNZ High Performance Coach Development programme.

The triallists’ names, schools and zones are as follows:
Laura Dorgan, Roncalli College, Mainland
Caitlin Dowden, Mt Albert Grammar School, Northern
Colleen Faleafaga, St Mary’s College Wellington, Central
Holly Fowler, Mt Albert Grammar School, Northern
Abbey Franklin, Nelson Girls’ High School, Mainland
Sydney Fraser, St Kentigern College, Northern
Kate Lloyd, Ashburton College, Mainland
Amorangi Malesala, St Kentigern College, Northern
Lily Marshall, St Margaret’s College, Mainland
Tiana Metuarau, Wellington East Girls College, Central
Laura Moffatt, Southland Girls’ High School, South
Jennifer O’Connell, Waitaki Girls’ High School, South
Christina Oscar, St Kentigern College, Northern
Marcelle Parkes, Wellington East Girls College, Central
Mererangi Paul, St Kentigern College, Northern
Kiana Pelasio, Otago Girls’ High School, South
Kimiora Poi, Napier Girls’ High School, Central
Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, Wellington East Girls College, Central
Jessica Shaw, Marian College, Mainland
Diahn Strickland, Te Rito Manukura, Central
Lucy Thompson, St Margaret’s College, Mainland
Alanis Toia-Tigafua, Mt Albert Grammar School, Northern
Tori Watt, Wellington East Girls College, Central
Maia Wilson, Mt Albert Grammar School, Northern

Seymour says for a lot of the players, the squad camp will be their first taste of being in a high-performance environment.

“Some of them have been in the NZSS team before but for a lot of the players, the three-day camp is the first step on the pathway to a potential career playing Netball,” Seymour says.

“The key is for them all to come prepared and focused and ready to fight for their spot in the team.”

Rotorua is hosting the Trans-Tasman U19 Netball Tournament in 2015, with the annual event changing format this year and extending into an Under 19 tournament. The NZSS team will compete against the Australian U19 A and B team (Australia Green and Australia Gold) and the Aotearoa Maori U19 team.