Tonight's draft has officially concluded.
Ex-Silver Ferns shooter Cathrine Tuivaiti to make shock Australian netball return
Ex-Silver Ferns and Adelaide Thunderbirds shooter Cathrine Tuivaiti will make a long-awaited return to Australian netball in 2023. Find out where she’s playing and how you can watch LIVE.
The Gold Coast Titans have become serious Sapphire Series premiership contenders, signing on ex-Silver Fern and long-time ANZ Championship shooter Cathrine Tuivaiti (nee Latu) for the 2023 season.
Tuivaiti, who represented the Silver Ferns on 24 occasions and reached 148 caps for the Northern Mystics, came into the team after a last minute withdrawal from former Sunshine Coast Lightning training partner and shooter Annie Lawrie, who will take a year off netball for personal reasons.
With nearly two decades of professional netball experience across the ANZ Championship, Suncorp Super Netball, and the UK’s Vitality Netball Super League, the 36-year-old will spearhead the Titans in their second year in the league.
Head coach Temepara Bailey – who played alongside Tuivaiti at the Mystics – said it was “very exciting” to sign a player with Tuivaiti’s experience.
“We’re very lucky to have her as a club and a community,” Bailey said.“As we all know, there’s a shortage of shooters in the Queensland area at the moment at this level.“There’s a lot coming through but you need that (level of) experience now and (someone who will fit) into the game plan at the Titans.
“She has a style of game that we wanted in our game; she’s a holding shooter, she’s strong, mobile if need be and very creative in the circle.”
The Titans have been further bolstered by the addition of former captain Kristen Oxenford. Returning after the birth of her first child in November, Oxenford has been signed as the team’s 11th player as part of the league’s new Super Netball draft, where players could opt to take in a member of either the Queensland Firebirds or Lightning to play varying minutes during the year.
In a shock to the competition, the Titans declined to draft a Super Netballer to their side on March 9, now revealing they have instead signed Oxenford, who will make her return later in the season pending fitness.
“(Oxenford) brings a lot of leadership and experience to the team,” Bailey said.
“She’s been in that Firebirds training partner space previously and she just knows the game and understands the style of game we want to play.”
The Titans missed out finals in 2022 after losing to the Sunshine Coast Thunder in the final round of the season, but with Tuivaiti under the post, Bailey said she felt the team had what it takes to go to the next level in 2023.
“Everyone wants to win a premiership, and for us it’s about consolidating what we’ve already got,” she said.
“Making the finals series is the first aim (for the season). I believe in the players we’ve got here, you have to be quietly confident but everyone other team will be as well.”
Currently in Italy, Tuivaiti will move over to the Gold Coast late this month.
To watch Tuivaiti and the Sapphire and Ruby Series live weekly via KommunityTV, go here.
SUPER NETBALLERS HEAD TO THE SAPPHIRE SERIES
- March 8, Hannah Davies
Queensland’s premier netball competition has been bolstered by some of the country’s best, as part of a new draft night to get Super Netballers into the Sapphire Series.
In a bid to increase playing time for players who find themselves starved of minutes, Netball Queensland will allow teams in the Sapphire Series to draft a Queensland Firebirds or Sunshine Coast Lightning player for the 2023 season.
As the newest entrant league for 2023, Bond University selected first, taking Gold Coast local Ash Ervin. Taken second by the Brisbane South Wildcats was Ash Unie. Both the Brisbane East Tigers and the Gold Coast Titans elected to not draft a player due to unknown reasons. The Ipswich Jets have selected Annie Miller, the USC Thunder took Mia Stower, and the Cougars reclaimed long-time player Macy Gardner.
READ OUR LIVE BLOG COVERAGE BELOW FOR FULL DETAILS ON SELECTIONS.
How does it work?
The Firebirds and Lightning have nominated players from their contracted list who, should they find themselves on the bench during the SSN, will have the opportunity to make up the time in the second-tier competition.
On March 9, clubs will head to Nissan Arena where they will nominate their top pick to join them for the 2023 season.
Re-entering the competition for the first time since 2021, the Bond University Bullsharks will select first — and there is no doubt eyes go straight to Firebirds captain and former Diamond Kim Ravaillion who made herself available to be drafted.
Following Bond will be the Brisbane South Wildcats, Brisbane East Tigers, Ipswich Jets, Gold Coast Titans, USC Thunder, and Brisbane North Cougars.
Players can decline a draft selection for reasons like extraordinary travel time, however declining will force them out of the draft entirely and the club will get the opportunity to select another player.
Clubs can also opt not to pick from the list and instead use the spot on a non-SSN contracted player.
Once drafted, the player is eligible for that club’s Sapphire Series matches but game time remains up to the discretion of their SSN coaching team.
It is believed an eleventh spot will open up during the match so no regular squad member is demoted to make room for a Super Netballer.
Who’s up for grabs?
From the Sunshine Coast Lightning, Annie Miller and Ash Ervin have made themselves available.
While midcourter Miller received strong minutes in the Team Girls Cup, it’s likely rookie Ervin will feature in the Sapphire Series as she sits behind South African star Karla Pretorius, Jamaican international Kadie-Ann Dehaney and new Diamond Tara Hinchliffe in defence.
Surprisingly, Firebird Kim Ravaillion has opted to be included in the draft, although the clu captain would be at long odds to be dropped.
Teammates Lara Dunkley, Mia Stower, and new recruits Ash Unie, Emily Moore and Macy Gardner also made themselves available to be drafted.
The eighth and final player available won’t be drafted to any club.
What’s the benefit?
Queensland SSN players will be almost guaranteed weekly game time.
Previously rookies who were unable to secure consistent game time in the world’s best league could go virtually a whole season with minimum time on court. The situation has caused angst among players.
Only 10 contracts exist for each team in the SSN, and even less places — seven — exist on court, meaning it’s not uncommon for younger, fringe players to hardly see the court.
With the draft, these players will be able to maintain fitness at a much greater level by playing HSS, but also prove their worth by dominating in the lower league should coaches face tough selection challenges.
Similarly, players coming back from a major injury such as an ACL could use the lower league as a way to test the waters before jumping into the deep end.
While the draft system appears to be aimed at fringe SSN players, Queensland’s young stars could also get the chance to play alongside some of the best in Kim Ravaillion and Lara Dunkley, among rising stars Annie Miller and Mia Stower.
What’s the risk?
Queensland aren’t the first to implement the strategy, and in fact have done so briefly themselves previously in 2021 when the former Lightning shooter Peace Proscovia played one game for the Mendi Rays when her SSN court time was becoming increasingly minimal.
The Victorian Netball League have also used the strategy, but not always to the player’s ultimate benefit.
Melbourne Vixens shooter Rahni Samason injured her knee last year while playing for the Southern Saints, an injury which required minor surgery and forced her to miss several more games of SSN.
Former Collingwood Magpie Maggie Lind also dropped into the VNL’s City West Falcons squad, but rather than rebuilding her to SSN level, Lind was eventually dropped from the team after 2022.
More Coverage
Updates
Players not drafted: Kim Ravaillion, Emily Moore and Lara Dunkley. The Tigers and Titans can still choose to recruit one of these players throughout the season.
Cougars – Macy Gardner. Gardner is in her first year back into the Super Netball since joining the Firebirds squad in 2020 as an extended Covid squad member. Gardner will sit behind midcourters Kim Ravaillion, Lara Dunkley and Gabi Simpson at the Firebirds, so court time may be harder to find for her, which could prove handy for the Cougars. Gardner will know the Cougars game plan very well, having won multiple premierships with the side, including back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
Thunder – Mia Stower. Another Cougars alumni, from a state league fans’ perspective it would be awesome to see Stower back in the competition, should the Firebirds allow it. Running out as goal attack, Stower is creative, reliable and can sink goals from anywhere. With Gretel Bueta out for the 2023 season however, her court time at SSN is almost guaranteed.
Jets – Annie Miller. As a New South Wales import who moved over to the Lightning in 2022, Miller is still somewhat unknown to state league fans. We might see her sit behind Laura Scherian and Mahalia Cassidy in the Lightning’s midcourt, so collecting minutes in the state league isn’t out of the question for her.
6:40pm – Tigers and Titans have decided to not draft a player.
Wildcats – Ash Unie. A fresh face to the Super netball but not the Sapphire Series. Unie has long been one of the league’s best – which explains her elevation – and has ties to both the Cougars and USC Thunder. Unie is a tenacious wing defence and goal defence who brings a lot of maturity to the court. Unie will likely sit behind Gabi Simpson and Ruby Bakewell-Doran in the Firebirds so court time could be seen at state level.
6:30pm – Bond University make their first pick, taking home grown talent Ash Ervin. A Gold Coast local and state league regular, Ervin made her Sapphire Series entrance with Bond University before switching over to the Ipswich Jets for 2022. Ervin will sit behind Karla Pretorius and Kadie-Ann Dehany in defence, which could make court-time tricky, but the recent ACL injury to Tara Hinchliffe means court-time might be easier to find than previously thought.
Super Netball draft
6pm – Clubs are arriving at Nissan Arena. The Gold Coast Titans are the first club to announce they will not be drafting a Super Netball player.
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