Lisa Alexander repeats call to cap imports into Super Netball league

Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander has renewed her call for a cap on imports in Australia’s Super Netball league.

Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander. Picture: Getty Images

Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander has renewed her call for a cap on imports in Australia’s Super Netball league, claiming it is stifling the development of the country’s premier young players.

Nine months out from the World Cup in England, Alexander said the sport and the nat­ional team were in good health as she reflected on a 3-1 Constellation Cup series win over New Zealand.

However, while Super Netball is a burgeoning showpiece for the sport, she admitted to being increasingly anxious about the influx of imported players.

Alexander has voiced her concern on the issue before, saying England’s Commonwealth Games triumph last April could be attributed in large part to the English players’ exposure to the world-leading Australian league.

Next year, more than one- quarter of the league’s 80 contracted players will be from ­overseas.

“It’s a problem for our national program,” Alexander said. “We have a restriction on our players getting court time so that’s always a concern for me as national coach. Particularly our younger players who are knocking at the door — they don’t get those ­opportunities easily.”

Eight English players and five from Jamaica have contracts for 2019 in an ideal World Cup lead-in for those top-four nations.

Netball Australia chief executive Marne Fechner said Super Netball’s policy was partly for commercial reasons but also for the good of the game, promoting its growth internationally.

“If we were purely looking at it through a high-performance lens, we might make different decisions,” Fechner said.

AAP