Netball Australia will give former captain Laura Geitz every opportunity to earn a last-minute Commonwealth Games call up, despite not selecting her in the 14-strong squad for January's Quad Series.
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Geitz won't have any competitive netball between now and the Gold Coast Games to prove she is ready for a Diamonds recall, but national coach Lisa Alexander plans to invite her to a training camp early next year from which she could be selected.
The Commonwealth Games winning captain from Glasgow in 2014 hasn't played since stepping aside to give birth to her son, Barney, but has recently returned to training with the Queensland Firebirds who she will represent in next year's Super Netball competition.
Season two of Super Netball will begin belatedly in late April so as not to clash with the Commonwealth Games.
Diamonds players will train with their clubs until Christmas before bunkering down in Canberra to kick-start their Quad Series preparations early in the new year.
NSW Swifts vice-captain Paige Hadley is back in the Commonwealth Games frame, recalled into the national squad after missing the most recent Quad Series and Constellation Cup.
She battled a knee injury throughout the inaugural Super Netball season, but performed strongly during the Fast 5 tournament last month forcing Alexander to include Hadley in her Quad Series plans.
The 25-year-old midcourter said having Geitz at the Commonwealth Games would be a major trump for Australia.
"It's her home town, she's led Australia to a gold medal in Glasgow and a gold medal in Sydney at the World Cup, so I think it'd be a massive boost," Hadley said.
Hadley thought her Commonwealth Games dream was over when Alexander overlooked her for national selection earlier in the year.
That was a cruel blow given Hadley missed the Glasgow Games with a knee injury, and she's determined to do everything in her power to earn her spot at the Gold Coast in April.
"The last few months off have been a blessing in disguise," Hadley said. "I'm back now, not injured and pain-free – the few months [off] helped me get back to my best.
"I knew being injured and missing a lot of games through the season it definitely wasn't the best thing for me and not getting an opportunity when the Constellation Cup team did change, I knew the Comm Games was even a further distance away for me.
The Swifts star is settling back into pre-season training under new coach Briony Akle, who is already making an impact as the club looks to regain its status as a powerhouse in Australian netball.
"This is the first week of being under Briony, but it's a breath of fresh air, I think it's something different," Hadley said.
"She's completely different to [former coach] Rob [Wright]. I'm really enjoying it and I'm really lucky that the girls that we have signed on from last year. We've started creating something different and special in Sydney with the Swifts team.
"Last year we gave teams an absolute scare, we lost most of our games by less than five goals. It was just the confidence and knowing that we can win games and actually finish them off.
"It's going to be a big focus for us pre-season going into next season, finishing off games and not being scared to win against those big guns."
