The Adelaide Thunderbirds will travel with all four of its training partners ahead of its Round 1 clash with West Coast Fever in Brisbane on Saturday afternoon.
SA locals Chelsea Blackman, Charlee Hodges, Georgie Horjus and Tayla Williams will all fly with the team on Friday morning after the SSN announced teams could travel with an extended squad of 12.
Blackman will head to Brisbane in place of Layla Guscoth, while Hodges replaces Sasha Glasgow. Guscoth and Glasgow are in the final stages of their respective injury recoveries.
Guscoth and Glasgow will both play in Netball SA’s Premier League on Friday night at Priceline Stadium as they build up match fitness.
Guscoth will line up for Newton Jaguars Netball Club, while Glasgow will play for her former club Contax Netball Club.
Adelaide Thunderbirds head coach Tania Obst said the increased squad sizes would allow each team to load manage athletes through what is already a compromised and condensed season.
“We have a strong core of training partners to supplement our team. All four athletes have been training with us, seizing every opportunity in our environment,” Obst said.
“I am excited to see these young South Australians on the SSN court matching it with the world’s best netballers.”
The Thunderbirds will take on the Fever at 2:30pm ACST on Saturday, August 1. The match will be broadcast live on Channel 9 and on the Netball Live Official App.
