Plan for netball team 'a disaster'

By FRED WOODCOCK - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 13 November 2008

Former Pulse chairman John Freer is predicting a "tragedy" for netball in the central region if the ANZ Championship franchise becomes a national development team in disguise.

Freer, who was asked to resign as chairman at the end of last season, has backed up speculation that Netball New Zealand, who will bail out the cash-strapped franchise if required, is keen to build the Pulse around a nucleus of national under-21 players.

"I've had it on pretty good oil that's what their plan was," Freer said yesterday.

"It's common knowledge in netball circles that NNZ is taking over to establish a team which will be predominantly built around the New Zealand under-21 side.

"Obviously, they will have some players from the central region, but I'm predicting that high-performance netball across central New Zealand will be simply doomed.

"It's a short-term, knee-jerk reaction which will manifest into a long-term disaster."

Freer acknowledged the financial constraints the Pulse and NNZ faced but voiced concerns over the pathway for regional players and coaches being blocked, and he fears that the public will not support the team.

"Who is going to want to support a team that is mainly pulled together from outside of the region and that will be flogged in every game they play?

"The other thing that is concerning is we've got coaches like Kate Carpenter who are being tossed into touch. We can't afford to lose those people's expertise.

"She's built a lifetime of expertise and we always said it would take three years to get the team to where it was competitive ... there was a bunch of really young kids in that team and they'll disappear now."

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