Sunshine Girls aim to sink Aussies

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

The Sunshine Girls today will oppose top-ranked Australia in their opening match of their three-Test series at State Netball Hockey Centre in Victoria, Melbourne, starting at midnight (Jamaica time).

The Jamaicans, who are ranked fourth in the world, are oozing with confidence ahead of this evening's clash, following their historic 1-1 tied finishes in respective two-Test series against Australia and New Zealand countries last October on home soil.

In both series, which were played days apart, the Sunshine Girls rallied from a 1-0 deficit.

Annette Daley, assistant coach of the Sunshine Girls, said the players are very optimistic that they can beat their opponents again.

Doing good

"The girls are doing good because they have been dealing with the cold weather pretty well and they have also been training very hard and they are very confident," said Daley.

"We have had some video sessions and court sessions and it went well and so I am expecting a good performance from them on Sunday (tonight)."

She added: "The players who played in the victory over the Australians last year are looking forward to this rematch because they believe that they can do it again over their opponents," Daley said.

The Jamaica coach also noted that the young players in the squad are also very confident because they have not shown any signs of nervousness in training and they have also been gelling well with the rest of the team.

Jamaica, whose head coach is Connie Francis, arrived in Australia on Wednesday, where their line-up was boosted with the inclusion of ace goal shooter, Romelda Aiken, who recently took part in the ANZ Netball Championships, which is played in Australia and New Zealand.

"Romelda (Aiken) has joined our team and this will give us a big boost because she is very experienced and she has been playing out here against most of these Australian players for a while now," Daley said. "I believe that she will certainly do well for us, along with the other members of the team."

Leading the charge

Aiken is expected to partner Vanessa Walker in the shooting arc. Captain Nadine Bryan will start in the centre court, while Paula Thompson and Sasher-Gaye Henry will lead the charge from the wing attack and wing defence positions.

Nicole Aiken and Georgia Gordon are expected to fill the goalkeeper and goal defence positions, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Australian team, which is coached by Norma Plummer, includes the experienced pair of Natalie von Bertouch and Catherine Cox, who combine for over 143 matches. They are expected to receive support from Sharelle McMahon and Mo'onia Gerrard.

The second test match will be played on Wednesday at the Sydney State Sports Complex.