The Canberra Giants' search for Australian Netball League gold will open with a pre-season showdown against their big sister - and they have a former insider in their corner.
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Canberra will face Super Netball outfit Greater Western Sydney as the two Giants sides gear up for their respective campaigns at the AIS Frank Stuart Training Hall on Friday.
It marks Canberra's first game under the tutelage of Melinda Clarke and her assistant Bec Bulley, a former Giant and world champion, as they look to better last year's grand final defeat.
The Canberra Giants are GWS' feeder team, and Clarke had eyes on building a NSW squad and ACT development squad with plans for the two groups to come together for Canberra's final team selection.
Scorelines in trial matches are often the least of a coaching staff's worries but Netball ACT talent and performance manager Nicole Bowles says the experience will be invaluable for Canberra's rising stars.
"Last year, [Canberra] put on an impressive performance against the [GWS] Giants and we expect the team to push the nation’s best players again," Bowles said.
"It is great to have such high-calibre athletes in Canberra. It is a wonderful opportunity for our young up-and-coming players to get close to athletes who are competing on the national stage."
Netball ACT general manager Benita Bittner says the chance to host the Giants - who will play a Super Netball game at the AIS Arena on August 4 - is huge for a growing crop of juniors in the capital.
"As the largest female participation sport in the ACT, with over 10,000 female participants, it is so important our young athletes have the opportunity see strong, female netball role models in action in their own community," Bittner said.
