Ruby Series removal not all bad says Sharks coach

The sun will still rise tomorrow on Mackay’s netball talent and players will continue to thrive says former coach of the Mackay Ruby Series team.

Whitsunday Sharks coach Jules Penklis.

NOT all is as bad as it seems following Mackay's removal from the Ruby Series competition, so says former Souths Whitsunday Sharks coach Jules Penklis.

Penklis actually looks forward to what the future holds for Mackay netball.

In an ideal world, Penklis said she would have liked to keep the professional pathway in Mackay but added the change would better cater to the needs of North Queensland sport.

The Sharks coach was not the biggest fan of how the Ruby Series North was conducted and said the Queensland Premier League structures have promised to remedy some of her issues.

"I think they had to try several things and they had to answer the ultimate question, 'is this competition sustainable', which it wasn't," she said.

The Ruby Series North was played across four rounds over four weeks by three teams; each team would play twice each round and the team with the most points at the end of the four weeks was crowned premiers, with no finals series.

Penklis said the Ruby Series North did not marry well with the distance between cities in North Queensland, which was its biggest setback.

"In the city they just go to the venue, go home and get ready for the next week," she said.

"We didn't have that. We had to drive five hours home, try to train, and then prepare to travel again."

While the structures are still being decided, Penklis said the early QPL ideas seemed more appetising than Mackay's former situation.

"The QPL will be spread out over a longer season that has a finals series," she said.

The draft structures account for five flexible rounds where teams can choose to play up to 12 games if they participate in all rounds.

The competition will have Under-17s and Opens divisions and is likely to be held every second weekend from June to September.

Winners of 17s and Opens will go on to play in a finals format with other regional competition winners.

"I'm very positive to the change," Penklis said.

"I guess the hard part is before players didn't have to leave their areas to pursue the pathway, now their hand is forced to move to Townsville or Brisbane."

The former Sharks coach said the opportunities offered would not be too different for younger players, while the changes would be most noticable to older netballers in the ­region.

"There are still opportunities for players to be showcased, and still U18s competitions," Penklis said.

"That's what this (QPL) competition is, a chance to showcase skills to interest Ruby or Sapphire Series selectors.

"Older players are probably working at that age and have the ability to move if they so wish."

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