ADF readies to take on Kiwis

By LS Rachel Irving

LSCISSM Narelle Ponder is Navy’s sole representative in the ADF Women’s Basketball team to tour New Zealand this month.

Photo: ABPH Phil Cullinan

The ADF Men’s and Women’s basketball teams are set to take on New Zealand when they tour there this month.

Invited by the New Zealand Defence Force, the ADF teams will leave Australia on June 8 and will tour until June 25.

Although this is the third tour New Zealand for the ADFBA ADF Basketball Association), the first in 1983 and second in 1991, there has not been an overseas tour for the ADFBA since going to the UK in 1998.

Navy’s sole representative the women’s team is HMAS Stirling’s LSCISSM Narelle Ponder.

Standing an impressive 6 foot inches, Narelle will line up as centre for the women’s team.

At 29, Narelle has a 17-year history with the sport, playing for Navy and the ADF and she also plays for the WA state league team the Rockingham Flames though she has not played this year due to injury).

ADF teams are keen to chalk up a win against the NZ combined services team who they have yet to beat.

The tour will include a threegame Test Series against the NZDF as well as games against the police force and national basketball league teams including the Manawatu Jets. ADFBA is sponsored by BAE Systems and Tenix Defence.

The touring teams are (including coaches and managers):

• Men
  PTE Lachlan Armfield LAC Dean Hill LCPL Aaron Marsh LT Andrew Olechnowicz CPL Andrew Peate CPL Lucas Telley GNR Graeme Mathew Jones LT Michael Wicks Capt Andrew Hannan PTE Lucas Tanis CPL Ken Robertson BDR Terry Veenstra (Coaches, Managers: WOFF Michael Kearney, CPL Dean Burke, LT Marty Harper, LT Matthew Snowden)
  
  
• Women
  LSCIS3SM Narelle Ponder ACW Karen Herbert WO2 Kim Felmingham SGT Hayley Hall SGT Janeter Turnbull LACW Danni Stone LACW Heather Edwards FLTLT Megan Hurley FLGOFF Fiona Harris PTE Ruth Parker (Coaches, Managers: SQNLDR Kingston-Lee, SGT Cheryl Peebles, Mary Anne Wheatley, CMDR Chris Siegmann).

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