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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Renee Valentine

Souths coach cautious of players' loads in big weekend of Newcastle championship netball

IMPACT: Millie Tonkin can play Saturday's game but not Sunday. Picture: Marina Neil

Souths coach Tracey van Dal said player management would be key as the defending minor premiers target maximum points from a weekend double-header in Newcastle championship netball.

The competition essentially reaches its midpoint on Saturday with round-seven action, but only three rounds have so far been played due to wet weather.

Washed-out round two has been rescheduled for Sunday.

Lions play BNC Whanau on Saturday then face West Leagues Balance in a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.

"I need to be mindful managing the load of our [NSW] Premier League players, so we'll be trying to navigate that to make sure we have enough players of our own team on court without really the need of having to pull up players from our opens team," van Dal said.

Lions goal shooter Millie Tonkin can play Saturday but not Sunday due to her premier league commitments. Souths' other premier league players are goal attack Katelyn Stansfield and defenders Nakita Jackson and Tianna Cummings.

West also have several premier league players and will be in a similar situation. They meet Inner Glow on Saturday.

West player Tarsha Hawley and fellow Newcastle netballer Tyra Jarrett will take the court on Sunday for the Netball NSW First Nations All Stars against Giants Academy in a curtain-raiser to the Super Netball clash between Giants and Adelaide at Ken Rosewall Arena.

University play Nova and Kotara South take on Junction on Saturday. On Sunday, BNC are scheduled to battle Junction, Nova meet Tigers and Inner Glow go up against Uni.

In Super Netball, Magpies play Swifts and Fever battle Firebirds on Saturday. On Sunday, Vixens go up against Lightning and Giants host Thunderbirds.

Meanwhile, this weekend sees the first Sister city visit to Newcastle by Cobar Netball Association.

Forty-three male and female players from Cobar, aged 10 to 18, will take part in a skills clinic as well as match-play with Newcastle teams over the weekend. Officials from Cobar will also have the opportunity to enhance their skills.

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