MNNSW today revealed some big name additions to their Mixed Open playing roster for season 2021, aiming to tilt the team toward an elusive national title in this division. Kristina Bryce joins Em Moore as the star studded female shooting line-up, with Brad Halton and Steve Catalano returning as the male shooting combinations.
“There are so many combos to run and mismatches we can force with these four shooters that makes us hard to predict and therefore hard to match up against. We identified we needed more dimension to our attacking game to keep opposition guessing, and believe this list will have defenders heads spinning”, Coach Drew Mulvena said.
The mid court will see Marcozzi, Gray, Nexhip, Williams and Parrott run the floorboards for the sky blues, as part of a mid term rebuild of its core.
“The young gun middies will give us some more pace and flair to take the game on, which really is a squad direction we want to take and produce that classic NSW flat and fast netty. The boys have speed to burn, and our girls will not only match this but have a physical presence that we think will transfer to the mixed game with great impact.” Co coach Tommy Portelli said.
The tough and tagging backline boasts Emily Nesbitt, Angela Williams, Ben Hamer and newcomer Samuela Rabuku, who will attempt to take on the biggest assignment of all – how to stop the dominant Queensland circle.
“Our selections through defensive mid court and circle defence were based on versatility, and knowing we can experiment with some new strategies to take on the age old challenge of the big Qlder or giant Victorian under the post. The good thing is their game plan is very familiar to us, and as good as our opposition is, we just needed different weapons and options to throw at it which we think we now have.” Mulvena added.
Mixed Opens trials saw a growing presence from premier league clubs, showing signs of what an integrated pathway could look like.
“To have the states best up and coming girls choosing us as an alternate pathway to keep growing their game is both a privilege for us and compliment to what we are building. We just want to help NSW produce the best netballers to the top of the pathway, so if we can become another channel for this, all the better for our sport.” President Clare McCabe said
