LIZ Ellis reckons the New South Wales Swifts could surprise many people this season in the ANZ Championship, despite the retirement of an Australian defender leaving a huge hole at the back.
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Ellis, the former Australian netball captain and Windsor native, also thinks the last year’s Netball World Cup will have a marked effect on the championship this year.
The championship will begin on Friday, April 1, with the first match played in Auckland between New Zealand’s Northern Mystics and Southern Steel.
The Swifts have their first match on Sunday, April 3, at the Sydney Olympic Park against the Melbourne Vixens.
Ellis said she expected the Swifts and West Coast Fever to be battling it out with the team she considered the competition favourites and reigning premiers, the Queensland Firebirds.
“It is hard to go past the Firebirds as favourites,” she said.
“They won it last year and have a huge amount of confidence but also haven't had a lot of changes in their team so are very settled side.
“If Gretel Tippett can continue her projectory she will be very hard to stop.”
Ellis said she had seen the Fever play in the pre-season, and thought the team looked in sync.
“I really liked the look of the Fever, I think defensively they have strengthened their team and they looked strong and fit,” she said.
The Swifts have lost Australian defender Julie Corletto from their roster, but Ellis said people should not be so quick to write them off.
“I think the Swifts will surprise people, they lost Julie Corletto and has left a huge whole but they have recruited a lot of really young players,” she said.
A potential player to step up to the plate in Corletto’s absence is Maddy Turner according to Ellis.
“I think like the look of her. She has been drafted into that defensive line and she will be really good,” she said.
“Courtney Bruce from the Fever will have a good year too. She has turned up in the pre-season looking fit, she has had some injuries in the past but looks to have overcome them now.”
Ellis said the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic might also surprise a few people, and tipped them to round out the top four with the Firebirds, Fever and Swifts.
Ellis said she was thrilled to see the ANZ Championship showcasing the talent of the hard working athletes in the sport.
She pointed to the ANZ Championship grand final from last season as proof netball had many of Australia’s top female athletes in the sport.
“The sport is building really steadily. I think the last couple of years with the ANZ Championship showcasing the sport and the world cup being in Sydney a lot of people sat and took notice of netball.”
