Collingwood Are Now League Enemy #1
Their announcement today spells potential glory for years to come
Just a few months ago — in the heat of the finals race during the ANZ Championship — the Golden State Warriors got a firm commitment from Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant that he would be signing with them. Durant, who is arguably one of the best shooters in NBA history, confirmed he was joining a team who, in the previous NBA season, smashed every single record the league had available.
It may not be an overly apt comparison against what Collingwood Netball announced today, but post press conference there was an echo from the cries of a league fandom who found themselves already pinning the winning medals to a team 12 months in advance.
It is now known – officially, at least – that the Magpies have five Diamonds in their, presumably, starting lineup; four of which are starting and one of which had a banner few games off the bench on the defensive end in the recent Quad Series.
The definition of “super team” has never been so apropos after today.
The formation of this team, however, raises questions: should the salary cap already be looked into (already?) or should there have been a “Diamond cap” which limits the coalescing of talent to one spot. For a first season of netball perhaps Netball Australia should have taken a different approach — an expansion draft, maybe? And while conspiracy theories are fun, we won’t entertain that notion here today.
I digress, though, because we’re here to talk about the new Collingwood Magpies; a team with two Diamond defenders to anchor the post, a dead-eye sharpshooter in Alice Teague-Neeld and post shooter extraordinaire, Caitlin Thwaites.
The Pies have a midcourt to die for as well, with Diamonds starting centre, Kim Ravaillion, leading the play, while Ash Brazill, Shae Brown and Diamonds wing attack, Madi Robinson are there to keep the ball movement active on both ends. Ravi and Robinson have an undeniable chemistry at a representative level and Brazill brings experience and a physicality that teams crave on the defensive end.
Speaking of the defensive end, April Brandley and Sharni Layton are two the best defensive acquisitions in the league outside of the Pies getting Geitz (pregnancy) and McMeniman (retired).
Brandley has been working under Layton’s tutelage and has the length and speed to disrupt and block offensive movement around the circle. Layton, as always, is the emotional centre for this squad, and that’s all aided by her unbelievable athleticism and physicality which remain unmatched in the netball world.
The Magpies round all of this off with promising youth to draw upon as well, as Micaela Wilson and Cody Lange find themselves ready to step in on both the defensive and offensive ends, respectively.
It’s a superstar squad, that’s for sure, and, with all of these players signing, it’s hard to believe how the Magpies are able to afford all of this and be cap compliant. The biggest question spawning from all of this is is this good for the league? The short answer is: not really.
While it may all be smiles for those in Collingwood as they assert themselves as the best in the league, they need to be extra cautious going into the NNL’s debut season. Why, you ask? Well, they’ve just painted the world’s biggest target on their back with today’s announcement, and the rest of the league will have now have their sights set on toppling the heirs to the netball throne.
Teamlist: Sharni Layton, Caitlin Thwaites, April Brandley, Madi Robinson, Shae Brown, Ashleigh Brazill, Cody Lange, Alice Teague-Neeld, Kim Ravaillion, Micaela Wilson
