The GIANTS will kickstart their Super Netball Reserves campaign this weekend, with a young and eager squad named to hit the court against the Thunderbirds on Saturday night.
Piloted last year, Super Netball Reserves was established to support talent identification and to provide additional match play for athletes on the cusp of Suncorp Super Netball.
The GIANTS have named a squad of 11 to take on the Thunderbirds in their season opener, headlined by 11th player Monika ‘Otai and training partners Aimee Landrigan, Audrey Little, and Kelea Iongi.
GIANTS Reserves coach Bec Bulley is brimming with enthusiasm ahead of Saturday’s round one clash with the Thunderbirds.
“We have a young group that have been training hard in the gym since December last year and on court since January, so it will be great for them to now get out on court together,” she said.
Bulley added that the Reserves competition plays a crucial role in shaping the next generation of Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) and Australian Diamonds players.
“I’m very passionate about developing home-grown talent for the SSN and the Diamonds and the Reserves competition provides a great opportunity for these players to experience a higher level of competition which will improve their readiness for SSN.”
As they prepare to take on the Thunderbirds Futures at Netball Central in Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday night, Bulley said team selection for the Reserves competition would reflect the GIANTS' clear commitment to developing their young talent, with a focus on rotating opportunities across their Academy squad.
“We very much see this as a development program, so we’d like to see all of our Academy athletes given an opportunity to experience the SN Reserves competition.
“We are very fortunate to have some GIANTS Training Partners who have experience playing at this level and a group of young developing players with great potential.
“When selecting the team, we take their training and match play performance into consideration along with their physical and mental readiness to play at this level.”
GIANTS Netball Reserves will take on the Adelaide Thunderbirds Reserves at 7:30pm on Saturday at Sydney’s Netball Central.
Super Netball Reserves games will not be live streamed and full-time scores will be published via GIANTS Netball socials.
SN Reserves Round 1 Squad:
Kiara Bloor
Ashely Finegan
Olivia Harris
Kelea Iongi
Ella Johnson
Aimee Landrigan
Audrey Little
Imogen McCulloch
Monika ‘Otai
Jamie Podmore-Taylor
Charlotte Smith
