{"id":222948,"date":"2022-04-26T00:04:50","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T22:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=115142"},"modified":"2022-04-26T00:04:50","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T22:04:50","slug":"madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Madibaz stars on a mission in Telkom Netball League"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1 \">\n<aside id=\"republication_tracker_tool-2\" class=\"republication_tracker_tool clearfix\">\n<h5 class=\"adtitle\">Republish for Free<\/h5>\n<div class=\"license\">\n<p><button name=\"Republish This Story\" id=\"cc-btn\" class=\"republication-tracker-tool-button\">Republish This Story<\/button><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"license\" rel=\"noreferrer license noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league.png\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"message\">\n<p>Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115143\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115143\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?attachment_id=115143\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"223\" class=\"wp-image-115143 size-thumbnail lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-115143 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league.jpg\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"223\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SPAR Madibaz player Britney van der Merwe will co-captain the Eastern Cape Comets team when the Telkom Netball League gets underway in Durban on Wednesday. The Eastern Cape will also field an Aloes team, with both sides playing in the B division of the national competition. Photo: Varsity Netball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A total of 13 SPAR Madibaz Netball Club players will be at the forefront of the Eastern Cape\u2019s mission to make a statement in the Telkom Netball League that gets underway on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The national competition will see the cream of South Africa\u2019s provincial players in action, with the first block of matches in Durban from April 27 to May 2.<\/p>\n<p>Thereafter the games will take place in Pretoria from May 20 to June 19.<\/p>\n<p>The Eastern Cape will be represented by the closely matched Aloes and Comets teams, who will compete in the B division.<\/p>\n<p>Madibaz\u2019s Britney van der Merwe, who plays wing defence and goal defence, will co-captain the Comets while goalkeeper Jeanie Steyn will lead the Aloes. Lana Krige, who coaches the Nelson Mandela University side, is mentor-coach for both squads.<\/p>\n<p>Madibaz Sport netball manager Melinda Goosen, who will manage the Aloes, said promotion to the A division was a priority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Aloes have won the B division for the past two years and the Comets finished sixth last year, so it is definitely time for one of them to move up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will not be easy, but we do have the talent in the Eastern Cape.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would really show the strength of netball in the province if we can have the Comets and Aloes in the B division final.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Goosen said the league would be contested on a double round-robin format, with the top teams qualifying for the semis.<\/p>\n<p>The champions in the lower division will meet the bottom-placed A division side in a promotion-relegation match for a spot in the league\u2019s top tier in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Steyn, a stalwart of the competition since 2014 when it was known as the Brutal Fruit league, is making a comeback after a hand injury curtailed her 2021 season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will be my fifth year playing for the Aloes and I am excited about this opportunity for our players,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving this chance to compete means that we, as individuals, are growing and grooming our talents, which contributes to strengthening the game in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to compete with countries like New Zeeland, England and Australia and this league is paving the way to make that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said the experience of the Aloes players who had competed in the Telkom Netball League before would be crucial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have strong, experienced players who know what to expect,\u201d said Steyn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will be beneficial as it will be important to stay calm and collected when it is needed and to be able to hustle in tough situations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy message to the players is to embrace every moment. We have nothing to lose, so we might as well go out there and enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Van der Merwe, a member of the the B division-winning team last year, did not shy away from her team\u2019s objective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think every team has one big goal and that is to win. I won\u2019t downplay that because that\u2019s what we work so hard towards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we also want to take each game as a learning opportunity, play as a unified outfit and make sure we always strive to do our best,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will be important to stay calm under pressure but, if we can play with a unified front and give our all on the court, I\u2019ll consider it a success.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Van der Merwe expressed her appreciation at the opportunity provided by the national body.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just need to thank Netball SA for the opportunities they give us. Words can\u2019t express our gratitude but hopefully our games can,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe TNL gives us the platform to showcase our abilities and our passion and I personally love it that netball, a game I hold so dear to my heart, gets recognised publicly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt makes the players feel valued as \u2018professional athletes\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Madibaz players are:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Cape Aloes:<\/strong> Jeanie Steyn (goalkeeper\/goal defence), Siyamthanda Dingiswayo (centre), Siphosetho Kilani (centre\/wing attack), Noluthando Maliehe (wing defence\/goalkeeper), Mitha Sinxo (goalkeeper\/goal defence), Juanita van Tonder (goal defence\/goalkeeper), Kaylin Coetzer (goal shooter), Mothira Mohammad (goal attack\/wing attack), Mihlali Mgweba (wing attack\/goal attack).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Cape Comets:<\/strong> Britney van der Merwe (wing defence\/goal defence), Kelly du Toit (goalkeeper\/goal defence), Hanniska van Vuuren (wing attack\/centre), Bianca Blom (goal shooter\/goal attack).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"post-views-icon dashicons dashicons-chart-bar\"><\/span> <span class=\"post-views-label\">Post Views:<\/span> <span class=\"post-views-count\">78<\/span> <\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-pagination pagination\">Pages: <span class=\"post-page-numbers current\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>1<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>2<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\">Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republish for Free Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. SPAR Madibaz player Britney van der Merwe will co-captain the Eastern Cape Comets team when the Telkom Netball League gets underway in Durban on Wednesday. The Eastern Cape will also field an Aloes team, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":222949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021,1],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-222948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"category-south-africa","9":"tag-mypr","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/madibaz-stars-on-a-mission-in-telkom-netball-league.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}