Laura Geitz retains hope for Commonwealth Games

Former Diamonds captain Laura Geitz’s race against the clock for Commonwealth Games selection has received a big boost.

Former Australian Diamonds captain Laura Geitz is still in the mix for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Former Diamonds captain Laura Geitz’s race against the clock for Commonwealth Games selection received a big boost yesterday when she was elevated back into the national squad.

But the goal keeper still has a lot of work to do, by her own ­admission, before she can join the rare club of international netballing mothers.

Geitz was given the opportunity to opt out of selection after training with the squad at the AIS last week, but decided to throw her hat in an already very crowded ring.

She has not played any elite netball for 18 months, after ­stepping away to give birth to son Barney, who watched his mother train from the sidelines at last week’s camp.

Geitz was nervous when she took the court for the first time, and found herself slightly shocked by the pace of a game she once dominated.

But she left the camp satisfied that she’d made significant ­improvements, and clearly determined to persist.

Geitz’s comeback has been so rapid that it has outpaced the ­development of Netball Australia’s own parenting provisions for national representative players.

While Super Netball players are offered with carers and ­logistic support under the league’s CBA, the same policies have not yet been formalised for Diamonds.

But Geitz has been well ­supported, and insisted that she “would not be able to contemplate returning” without the help of the national body.

She now finds herself negotiating the same tricky territory many mothers are confronted with when returning to work: her job has been ably filled by a young crop of promising players in her absence.

But there’s no substitute for the kind of experience she can bring to camp, according to her goal keeping predecessor, Liz Ellis.

“(Geitz) had a great ability to make crucial intercepts at the right point of the game. Even off the court, just having someone who knows how to win is really good, Ellis said.

Sharelle McMahon was a trailblazer for Australian netball mothers, and is particularly ­familiar with Geitz’s game, ­having captained her earlier in her career.

McMahon said that Geitz’s knack for “meticulous preparation” has clearly stood her in good stead, and backed in her ­former teammate to complete the remarkable comeback.