There have been changes at the top with the retirements from A1 coaching ranks of long serving mentors Micki O’Dea and Marg Harvey. With two new coaches in Suella Davies and Geoff Zubrinich this should add a bit of extra interest.

Also the inclusion of some new young talent will bring a new dimension to the game.The major change for the Centrals side is the retirement of Jodie Munzberg and the inclusion of 15 year old Stephanie Anastasiou at Goal Shooter.

Stephanie had a good game first up and her understanding with Tegan Pine is developing and will be crucial to the game.

Defence for the Greens with the experienced Suella Davies floating across the back third and the young talent of Nicole Afford will provide a big challenge for the goalies.

Abby Zubrinich will need to take care how she feeds the ball into the goalies as Kylie Rees is an experienced opponent and will apply a lot of

pressure. Both girls will go hard at the ball and the battle will be worth watching. The clash of the two centre court players, Jessie Webb and Katie Atkins, will have a big bearing on the game. Whoever controls the centre third has the upper hand. Jessie has been one of the most consistent players for several years and her steadying influence will be needed against the speed and creativeness of Katie in another interesting clash. Ann Rusack at WD comes up against Keana Northcott, a 14 year old having her first full season in A1. Ann will need to be on her game as Keana is a developing talent and will be keen to show what she’s got to offer.

The battle between Lisa Brock and the super accurate Megan Phillips will be worth watching.

The experience of Megan will play a big role in settling the team, therefore Lisa’s influence over Megan will be vital in the game. Natalie Meuret’s clash with Emily Wardle will be exciting as 15 year old Emily is another young player with height and accuracy on her side with a lot to prove.

Natalie is new to the GK role and is working well with Lisa but they will have to work very hard to control the goalies. Whoever controls the rebounds may well win the game.

Overall the game looks evenly balanced but it will come down to who makes the least mistakes or who capitalises on the errors of the other team, it’s hard to see a difference of more than a handful of goals either way.

PHOTO:FREE PASS...St Mark’s Celtic Blue goal keeper Georgia Payne makes a pass in her 12&U Div 2 netball game on Saturday.