A number of new faces will get their first taste of international netball tonight when the Cook Islands host the first of two matches against a New Zealand Development Squad in Rarotonga.
There are seven newcomers in the extended line-up, with a handful of players unavailable due to work commitments, while regular skipper Luciana Matenga is getting married this weekend.
This is the first time the Black Pearls have been able to assemble since finishing fourth at the Pacific Games in July.
Head coach Dale Atkinson says it's a valuable opportunity to continue the progress made earlier in the year.
"Even with the core players from PNG the team is still predominantly Under 21 so it's just developing gameplans, developing their skills. Everyone that is in squad will be playing because that is the point of the whole development side of it - so some may play Tuesday night [local time], some may play Wednesday night. We just want to expose them to this level of netball and even just what it's like to be a performance or a high performance player".
And the opposition won't be completely unfamiliar with Atkinson having worked with much of the New Zealand team at secondary schools level.
The Cook Islands netball squad that will take on the NZ Development team. Photo: Facebook / Netball Cook Islands
