Giants skipper Jo Harten announces retirement from international netball

A star has announced her immediate retirement from international netball just months out from the World Cup.

Jo Harten has announced her immediate retirement from international netball just months out from the World Cup.

The Giants skipper, whose Cape Town campaign was in doubt after she left the court with a knee injury at the weekend, took to social media to confirm the news.

Harten played 117 caps for the Roses across 16 years including four World Cups and Commonwealth Games.

“Playing for England has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Working together with amazing athletes to achieve a common goal is what it’s always been about for me. I am so grateful for the experience and will cherish the memories made with teammates and management that have become family over the last 16 years.

“I know what it takes to compete against the best in the world, but I feel I can’t give 100% of myself both physically and mentally at this stage. I’ve come to this decision with both myself and my Roses family in mind leading into the World Cup campaign.“There are many people to thank, none more so than my family near and far, especially my dedicated parents, supporting me every step of the way. They love the game just as much as me. A special mention also to my junior coaches Carol Bull and Jean Cant from Harlow for their continued support.

It will be a massive blow to the Giants’ chances of snaring their first Super Netball premiership, and an equal hit to the England Roses ahead of the World Cup.

As great as it was to see the Firebirds notch their first win of the season, the Giants blew opportunities down the stretch, throwing possession away on several occasions.

You can’t underestimate the Firebirds’ defensive pressure – which was excellent.

Jo Harten of the Giants leaves the court. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

But just as important is Harten’s position as a virtual on-court coach for her team.

The Giants suffered a heavy round 1 loss when Harten missed a game for the first time in the history of the club.

She was off court for just a half on Sunday afternoon, but was again missed.

They lost little in the goal circle, with young shooter Matisse Letherbarrow converting at 85 per cent and missing just one shot from regulation range as well as sinking three-of-five from super shot range.

But they missed composure in the final stages.

Harten hopes to be back next week despite taking a knock to her left knee – the same one that was operated on just 12 weeks ago.

“I think it’s fine, I just had a bit of a funny landing,” she said

“It is my operated leg and I’m about 12 weeks out of surgery, so I’m still trying to complete that rehab process while playing professional sport.

“I had a brief conversation with the physio and we just weighed up (whether it was) worth going out for half a game or seeing how it is, so hopefully I’ll be all guns blazing next week.”

WHY WALLAM MUST GET DIAMONDS NOD

Donnell Wallam has been in sterling form this season despite the Firebirds’ woes, standing up in her second Super Netball season in the absence of Gretel Bueta.

Wallam has something you can’t coach – the love of the contest the ability to kick up a gear as the pressure rises.

It’s something that players can get better at as they gain experience in the tight situations but

Wallam has an innate competitive fire – and it’s why she should be in Stacey Marinkovich’s final team for the World Cup in South Africa later this year.

Wallam will be named in the Diamonds’ preliminary squad this week but she’s firming for the trip to Cape Town given her ability to perform under pressure.

With Bueta due to give birth to her second child around the same time as the Diamonds go into battle, Australia is without the star shooter that was such a huge part of its successful Commonwealth Games campaign and in need of an X-factor.

That should be Wallam.

She’s embracing her position as a senior member of the Firebirds and the challenge of carrying the scoring burden in Bueta’s absence, and her game has matured markedly in only her second Super Netball season, as seen on Sunday when she led the Firebirds to an upset of the Giants.

Sunshine Coast Lightning pair Steph Wood and Cara Koenen are locked and loaded for the team, while Kiera Austin is likely to win the starting goal attack position over Sophie Dwyer and Sasha Glasgow.

It likely leaves Wallam and Sophie Garbin – who was outstanding in last year’s domestic Tests and won the Quad Series berth this year – fighting for the final position in the match-day 12.

You wouldn’t envy Marinkovich and her selectors.

CONTENTIOUS GAMES WILL AFFECT SEASON

Should the Adelaide Thunderbirds be sitting at the top of the competition ladder?

We’ll never know given the league’s decision to split the points between the T-Birds and NSW Swifts after their abandoned match in Adelaide.

But that decision could come back to haunt at least one of the sides.

Had the match been completed – or replayed, given it was unable to be finished due to a power outage following a delayed start – and Adelaide won, they would be sitting at the top of the ladder thanks to their superior percentage over the Fever, who they beat at Perth’s RAC Arena on Sunday.

It was defending premier Fever’s first loss since last season in a match befitting a top of the table clash.

A decal is removed before the controversial abandoned match at Netball SA Stadium. Picture: Twitter

But Adelaide remains in second place on the ladder, despite, like the Fever, having been beaten just once this season.

The scores in their match against the Swifts were tied at halftime. And the result could just as easily affect the NSW side.

Their back-to-back victories over the past fortnight have helped put them in third place on the ladder.

But what will be the ramifications if they miss a home final, or spot in the four completely, due to the split points and percentage from the 25-25 scoreline that also stands from the round 2 match.

Hopefully results play out in a way that it doesn’t affect either side.

IS WILSON KEY FOR JAMAICA?

Plenty has been said about the ability of Adelaide goalkeeper Shamera Sterling, who was again outstanding in the Thunderbirds’ win against the Fever.

Her head-to-head contest against Jhaniele Fowler was a massive highlight of the top-of-the-table clash, with the defender forcing the woman regarded as the best shooter in the world to change the way she regularly plays.

That’s a win for the T-Birds but it alone wasn’t enough to affect her output.

Shamera Sterling of the Thunderbirds and Jhaniele Fowler of the Fever contest for the ball. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

One of the best ways to stop Fowler is to halt the ball before it can get to her in the circle and that’s where the T-Birds were so effective on Sunday.

Sterling and her Jamaican teammate LaTanya Wilson have formed an incredible circle defence partnership for the T-Birds at times.

But her permanent move into the midcourt has been a masterstroke.

Wilson finished with six gains, including an incredible five intercepts on Sunday, and all but shut down Fever wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld.

Teague-Neeld has been gaining plenty of plaudits this season and is among many pundits’ bolters for the squad to be announced later this week.

But she will be having nightmares about Wilson’s long arms for a while.

She’s in good company though – Wilson did the same to Diamonds captain Liz Watson a week earlier in her team’s win over the Vixens.