Domestic netball is enjoying its best profile ever in Australia and New Zealand. Players are now semi-professional, umpires receive more financial, and general, support than ever before, the sport and the ANZ Championship is being marketed fiercely and the players are all over our televisions.
However, while the sport is on a high, it is important the international game is looked after too.
Rugby league has been in a similar situation to netball. While enjoying club/domestic success, little was being invested into the sport's future on an international stage. Now we are seeing the result of that neglect.
International rugby league is nothing short of a joke. It's not even a two-horse race, just two hobbling horses trailing behind Phar Lap with three-legged rocking horses left stuttering in the starting blocks behind those three.
Netball at least have two close teams, but the sport needs to work hard with the mid-range sides to get them up to standard.
New Zealand, Australian and the top English and Jamaican players are up-skilling in the inaugural transtasman, semi-professional tournament while the other international players are left behind.
There needs to be time, money, administration and resources invested in the other netballing countries.
Tours to New Zealand and Australia need to be more common, as do games against lesser teams while they are here.
Jamaica, South Africa and England could play tests and games against franchise teams while the lesser teams could play provincial teams like Waikato and Bay of Plenty as well as tests.
That way they get close competition as well as games against the top international sides. The Silver Ferns and Australian sides get to play tests and try out their combinations against real opposition and domestic teams play against different styles of netball.
One of the big things to come from the new competition is the difference in defensive styles and how the players without international experience have had to adapt to them, especially moving the ball through the court.
To help the countries financially, half the proceeds made from the games could go back to their netball associations.
There seems to be plenty more money in the game now thanks to a bank, whiteware company and supermarket chain. While that is helping the game on our shores, surely some of that money could go to the top six coaches in the country (Ruth Aitken plus the five franchise mentors) to spend time in another country working with their players, coaches and administrators to promote the game with young girls, introduce skills, drills and ideas as well as generally working with the players.
In future that would make the international game more appealing and world championships more interesting.
The ANZ Championship is having an effect on the top teams only, and if something isn't done soon, international netball could become a domestic, club-based league-style joke.
The sport of Netball is great..lets write about it and ensure it takes its rightful place on the world map. Right here you can also have your say on any and everything. Politics impacts on our lives whether we like it or not, so have your say, maybe you can influence someone.
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