Nerine forced into re-shuffling pack

NERINE TRUST head into the netball unknown this weekend minus two vital shooters. The Guernsey champions are the first Channel Islands team to gain entry into the National Club League and their Division Seven campaign begins tomorrow with a two-day trip to play Unit 7 and Yendys.

But Dawn Browning and new signing Sonia Grant-Yendell will not be among the travelling party. Guernsey's star goal shooter has family commitments, while the talented newcomer is injured.

That means that Kerrie Hussey will move forward from her regular position at GK to share shooting responsibilities with Jenny Jordan and Naomi Taylor will come into defence.

'Sonia has come over from Kent although she has played in Greater Manchester. She will be very useful when fit,' said Nerine coach Gill Queripel.

Despite the loss of two shooters for the first two games, Queripel's girls are extremely excited about the prospect of testing their skills on a national basis.

'It's a little bit daunting,' said the coach.

'It is going to be tough, but it is nice to go into something unknown. We do not know anything about these two sides but they are all going to be really tough games - there will not be much in it at all.

'I do not expect games to be won by more than one or two goals - it will be hard fought all the way.'

But that is the reason why Nerine have gone the NCL route. It is a squad so packed full of talent that they want to test themselves against better quality opposition than Guernsey can provide.

Nerine A began the defence of their Comm-odore League Division One title with a landslide victory over Barclays Masters on Tuesday.

However, ideally, they would have liked several more matches before taking their first trip to England.

But a couple of the Nerine squad - Lorna Brown and Nena Bourgaize - have experience of the NCL and Queripel said: 'that's got to be a plus point'.

Because of possible weather constraints when winter arrives, Nerine have chosen to visit the two teams furthest away from Guernsey for their opening fixtures.

Then, after playing Clan and Woodley, they finish their programme with games against Just Ahead and Roman Glass - who they met in June's qualifying competition.

All the matches, unlike the Commodore League, will be played indoors, which should benefit Nerine's style of play.

'We have got a very fast, flat game and when winter starts taking over, it is difficult to play it outdoors,' Queripel said.

It was Nerine's decision to have three double-header weekends rather than make six separate trips. Every other side in the NCL plays just once on a weekend, but the cost of doing that would have been prohibitive for the Guernsey club.

Although that would seem a disadvantage, Queripel has still set her troops high targets.

'We want to get promotion, why not? Okay, we don't know them but they don't know us either and we have got a really good squad.

'If we do not go in with a positive attitude, we do not deserve to win.

'We are going in to learn, we are going in to be stretched and we are going in to win,' she added.