Kim Green ready to make mark in Super Netball grand final replay

FORMER Diamond Kim Green will make her long-awaited return to the game court against a team she could hardly bare to watch in last year’s Super Netball Grand Final.

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FORMER Diamond Kim Green will make her long-awaited Super Netball return against a team it hurt her to even watch last year.

The netball stalwart will play her first game of Super Netball in almost a year when the Giants line-up against Sunshine Coast Lightning in a replay of the 2017 season decider at Qudos Bank Arena next Sunday in the opening round of competition.

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The Sydney-based midcourter says while she had a “difficult” rehabilitation from her ACL surgery with numerous complications, the worst part was sitting on the bench during the Grand Final.

Kim Green in action prior to her seas-ending injury last year.

“It (the injury lay-off) taught me a lot. I think because it happened in round five and we were just getting into it, it was even harder,” she said.

“By the time we got to finals I just wanted to play and the emotions got high.

“I was pretty devastated. Found it really hard to watch. I was quite emotional.”

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Green, who has been “smashing” fitness and strength test, is now just a week away from her return to high-level competition.

“Everything gets pulled apart. I felt like a failure some times,” she said.

Netball captains Kimberlee Green and Abbey McCulloch at the start of last season.

Kim Green cheering from the sidelines at the start of the season.

“But now I have never feels so strong and powerful before.

“I’ve been able to pull apart things like the way I land, take off, everything has been ripped to shreds as we built the muscles around it (the ACL njury).”

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Green said while she was frustrated being out of the game, she never considered ending her career prematurely.

“It never crossed my mind,’’ Green said.

Green has been slowly introduced back into full training over the past few months and has made it through recent practice matches without issue.

“I just want to get out there and play,’’ she said. “It’s been the longest pre-season ever.’’

Kim Green after sustaining her season-ending injury in 2017.

Green’s Giants team will host Lightning in their opener of the season after Lighting beat the NSW team 65-48 for the inaugural crown.

The Swifts will tackle the Queensland Firebirds in the second match of the NSW double header.

A raft of rule changes have been introduced for season two of the competition with the most relevant a change to the way the scoring ladder will work.

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Wins now earn four points and draws two but a point will also be awarded to the team that wins each quarter of the game.

Other changes include the number of time outs for teams increased from two to four and breaks between quarters extended by a minute to five minutes and a 15-minute break at halftime.

SUPER NETBALL ROUND 1

Saturday

VIXENS V MAGPIES, 3pm, Hisense Arena, Melbourne

Sunday

GIANTS V LIGHTNING, 1pm, Qudos Bank Arena.

SWIFTS V FIREBIRDS, 3pm, Qudos Bank Arena.

THUNDERBIRDS V FEVER, 12.30pm, Priceline Stadium, Adelaide