Netball: Wests withdraw from A Grade

By STEVE MENZIES

Wests Netball Club has withdrawn its team from the KFC A Grade Netball competition.

This leaves only two teams – Federal Club Eastside and Rovers Complete Construction – left for the remaining seven rounds of the season before finals.

Wests had not been competitive with the two teams that have dominated the A-Grade competition winning all the premierships since 2006.

Games against these sides have resulted in losses of 50 goals or more.

The players will be regraded to the club"s A-Reserves teams, Wests Gilllub and Wests Epilogue which are in third and sixth place in the Wests x-team A-Reserves competition.

This change should produce better and more exciting netball in both grades for the remaining seven rounds.

It could mean players from the A-Reserves being regraded to lower grades.

Wests club president Kathleen Axten said players had been doubling up and playing in the A-Reserves and A-Grade most weeks this season to enable the club to field the three teams.

The KFC A-Grade competition will now be an 18-round season instead of the original 20 rounds.

This means the A-Grade will not have to play during the July school holidays.

The two remaining A-Grade teams, Federal and Rovers, will play each other three more times, in rounds 13, 15 and 18. In the other weeks they will play A-Reserves teams as is currently the case.

KFC Alice Springs Netball Association manager Jay Scott-Hunter said it was an unfortunate situation especially mid-season.

"The goal of the association is to have as many players playing, and enjoying, netball as possible," he said.

A draw for the rest of the season will be released early next week.

A format for the KFC A-Grade finals will be devised after consultation with the clubs.

There is no netball this weekend due to the Tatts Desert Race over the Queen's Birthday Weekend.