Qualifiers will be tough: Pepes coach

MORE than 50 netball hopefuls along with current representative players, took part in Netball PNG’s two-day open trials that ended yesterday at the Rita Flynn Netball Courts, Port Moresby.
The trials were held to identify players for the PNG Pepes team that would take part in the Oceania qualifiers for the 2019 Netball World Cup in England.
The qualifiers will be held in New Zealand in April, and will include the powerhouses of Pacific netball Fiji, Cook Islands and Samoa.
Brisbane-based high performance coach Christina Carswell, pictured, who has been conducting the selection trial, told the media that competition for a place in the World Cup would be tough, with only the top two finishers qualifying.
“They’re doing a lot of development at junior level. These countries are able to bring in Australia and New Zealand-based players into their teams,” Carswell said.
Carswell, who was at the helm as PNG claimed the netball gold medal at the Pacific Mini Games in Vanuatu, said the future looked bright with the number of juniors coming through into the senior team. “Going to Vanuatu was amazing for the young players, to have the experience of Lua (Rikis) and Jacklyn (Lahari) and saw that maturity during the trials.”
“It was a good stepping stone, Netball PNG is in a rebuilding phase. Opening these trials up to all PNG players whether they reside in the country or overseas is a good start. They’re playing netball and they’re willing to play for PNG.”
A 20-member squad will be announced next week which will see the team start training programme in for the qualifiers in April.
The final 12-member team will be named prior to the team’s departure to New Zealand.