Netball SA

Forget the Kiwis, the Adelaide Thunderbirds hunt bigger game

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

By Netball SA

The Adelaide Thunderbirds will begin their charge into the inaugural ANZ Championship with the toughest challenge they could find � a three-game series against the national men�s netball team this weekend.

Jane Woodlands and her netball stars face the possibility of a bruising encounter against a team that will be bigger, stronger and, while there is some debate, faster.

But Woodlands says she could not think of a more demanding way to get a feel for just how well her new-look team may gel and how all their hard pre-season work has paid off.

And for SA, and Australian, netball legend Marg Angove it will be a strange return to centre court at ETSA Park when she takes the helm of the men�s team.

�I have used games against State men�s sides before, at several levels, and they are as demanding as it gets,� Angove says.

She says the standard of men�s netball, particularly at a State and national level, has reached an impressive standard.

She says while the Adelaide Thunderbirds are the cream of the SA netball crop, the team she will be guiding is the pick of the country, and she will have players from four states in Adelaide for the tournament.

�This will be a series well worth seeing,� Angove says.

�It will be fast, it will be very competitive from both sides and I think people will be more than impressed by the standard,� she says.

The games will be played at ETSA Park on Saturday and Sunday.

Match 1 � 10.00am Saturday February 16

Match 2 - 2.30pm Saturday February 16

Match 3 � 9.00am Sunday February 17

Thunderbirds memberships and season passes will be available to purchase on the day.

Teams are:

Adelaide Thunderbirds:

* Kate Beveridge
* Nat Medhurst
* Kristen Hughes
* Melissa Rowland
* Carrie Worthley
* Alex Clarke
* Natalie von Bertouch
* Georgia Beaton
* Emily Beaton
* Mandy Edwards
* Mo`onia Gerrard
* Bianca Reddy
* Geva Mentor
* Nadia Mapunda
* Sheree Wingard
* Kirby Mutton

Australian men�s team:

* Tim Blackwood - Victoria
* Heath Brown - Victoria
* Ben Elder - Western Australia
* Guy Keane - Victoria
* James Matthews - Victoris - former South Aust.
* Dan Ryan - Victoria (Captain)
* Sikeli Seru - Queensland
* Julian Yeoh - Victoria
* Craig Moore - Victoria

Manager: Vicky McSherry
Coach: Marg Angove OAM

Forget the Kiwis, the Adelaide Thunderbirds hunt bigger game

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