You might think Debbie White would be a little sad about the Otago Rebels folding after 10 years in the National Bank Cup.
But the franchise's most-capped player has no room left for sentiment because she is brimming with excitement about her inclusion in the Steel.
The combined Otago-Southland side will have it first training run in Invercargill this weekend, two months out from its opening match in the inaugural ANZ Championship against the New South Wales Swift.
White and three of her Dunedin-based team-mates - Jessica Tuki, Leana Barrett-Chase and Katrina Grant - are car pooling and will travel to the netball-mad city this afternoon.
But four of last season's Rebels - Phillipa Finch, Demelza Fellowes, Jodi Brown (nee Te Huna) and Anna Thompson - will be playing their netball north of the Waitaki for Canterbury.
White, the 1.81m-tall former Taieri College school teacher, who notched up 53 games over eight seasons for the Rebels, could not hide her enthusiasm about the new set-up.
‘‘To be honest, the combined team is looking really good and I think, at this stage in my career, it is good to have a change. I probably would have had to change, anyway, just to keep fresh. Otherwise, you just go through the same old things with the same old people.''
The opportunity to work with canny coach Robyn Broughton, who led the Sting to seven titles in 10 years, had the cheery midcourter waxing lyrical.
‘‘I know she has had lots of stars in her team in the past but even her high school teams always dominate, so it is going to be really good. All the girls she has coached just rave about her and that is a tell-tale [sign], isn't it?''
A versatile player, White's strongest attributes are her fitness and ability to read the game. But her skill of popping up on defence to steal an intercept or pounce on loose ball has also counted against her in recent years.
The Silver Ferns squad member was viewed by the national selectors as more of a defensive player and overlooked for the world championships. But White hopes to add to her one test cap and has been working hard on her ability to link the court and feed the shooters.
The indication from Broughton is that White is best suited to wing-defence rather than centre but she could also fill in at goaldefence.
‘‘I started out as a goal-defence . . . so I'm definitely a defensive player. But I think my attacking play is coming along well.''
Megan Hutton will be the only Steel squad member missing this weekend. She is playing in the Superleague in London.
