Former international called into Steel squad

Press Release
(For immediate release)
March 17, 2011

Former international called into Steel squad

Former Silver Fern Jodi Brown will join the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel in Perth tonight as it prepares to take on the West Coast Fever on Saturday.

Dunedin-based Brown, who played for the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in last year’s ANZ Championship, is a temporary replacement for Hayley Saunders for the round six game. Saunders has not travelled to Australia with the team following the sudden passing of her father, Mike, last week.

Brown, 29, is a seasoned campaigner whose presence will provide experienced back-up in Steel’s shooting ranks.

Despite giving birth to her second daughter, Aria, just seven weeks ago, Brown said she was excited about the chance to return to elite netball – albeit on a limited basis.

“I made it quite clear I wanted to return to top level netball again and this is a great opportunity to do that,” she said.

“Rob’s (Robyn Broughton) an experienced coach and she’s obviously put me there for a reason … there’s no substitute for experience at that level but we’re also pretty realistic in terms of my match fitness so it really is just a back-up role.”

Selected in the Otago Lois Muir Challenge team, Brown has been training for the past few weeks under the watchful eye of coach Georgina Salter.

“I’ve been gradually getting back into it. The Lois Muir team was going to be my first step towards returning to top level netball but then this opportunity presented itself.”

She’s no stranger to competing in the top echelon as a new mother, returning to the Canterbury Tactix squad in 2009 just a few months after the birth of her first daughter, Kiana.

Brown admitted she had missed not being involved so far this year and has been watching the trans-Tasman league unfold with interest.

“It’s been a lot closer this year – the teams are more even and it’s really hard to pick who’s going to win games and who’s not. Everyone is getting challenged,” she said.

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