Diamonds coach calls for patience with returning Caitlin Bassett

Australian netball coach Lisa Alexander has called for patience as star Giants recruit Caitlin Bassett recovers from an injured arm.

Caitlin Bassett, left, in action for the Giants against NSW Swifts in the opening round of the Super Netball competition on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

Australian netball coach Lisa Alexander has called for patience as star Giants recruit Caitlin Bassett recovers from an injured arm.

Bassett signed a three-year contract with the Giants in September, but the goal shooter fractured her arm while on tour with the Diamonds in January, and has only recently returned to court.

The 30-year-old showed some rust in Sunday’s opening-round derby against the Swifts, shooting 28 goals from 36 attempts, and was benched early in the fourth quarter.

“I think everyone needs to understand that that was only her second session out on court, so she’s really doing very well,” Alexander said. “Obviously (Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald) would have loved to have her out there for longer, but only coming back so late and having that interruption it’s clearly put her behind.”

Alexander added that she wouldn’t expect Bassett to play four quarters of netball so soon, but she is confident the national captain will work her way into the team quickly.

Alexander has a busy few weeks ahead as she and her fellow national selectors closely monitor the performance of Australian players before announcing a 12-player World Cup team after round five of the Super Netball competition.

As always, no one’s position in the team is safe in an era of regular shuffling at the national level.

A strong performance from the Vixens, particularly in defence, caught Alexander’s eye over the weekend. Melbourne were jumped early by a feisty Firebirds team on Saturday, but pulled away to a strong 73-61 win. “I think they really shut down Gretel Tippett and Romelda Aiken, who can be very dangerous. (Jo) Weston and (Emily) Mannix did a particularly good job there,” Alexander said.

“Clearly players are putting their hand up and wanting to be noticed and to be picked in this team.”

Alexander said the most vexing selections would come in a crowded midcourt. There are eight players in the national squad today competing for four spots.

“Those players need to be versatile, and they need to be superbly conditioned because they have got a big workload,” she said.

Another concern for the coach is how her players can adjust to international netball, which does not allow for time-outs during match play, unlike Super Netball.

“It really struck me, the breaks that the players get with the time-outs, it might not be necessarily from a physical fitness perspective. It’s the mindset around it, we’ll really have to reset that in June,” she said.