Geva Mentor and Pamela Cookey are modern-day greats, says Natalie Seaton
Tuesday 4 August 2015 17:35, UK
Geva Mentor and Pamela Cookey’s generation of netballers have increased the athleticism in the modern game, says Natalie Seaton.
Mentor, named the world’s best player last year, will captain England alongside vice-skipper Cookey in the Netball World Cup which is live on Sky Sports between 7-16 August.
The showpiece tournament in Australia will be Mentor’s fourth World Cup while Cookey has represented England for 11 years. Former international Seaton believes the veteran duo ushered a new level of fitness into netball.
What we’ve seen, over the course of the past 10 years, is the athleticism of the players improve so much.
“The contribution they’ve made is almost immeasurable for netball in this country,” Seaton told Sky Sports.
“What we’ve seen, over the course of the past 10 years, is the athleticism of the players improve so much.
“Pamela works so hard off the court to keep her conditioning and she’s come back from injuries. She’s come back stronger and fitter and her shooting accuracy is always up there.
“That’s the biggest difference they’ve made because we’ve seen a newer generation of players come through that are athletes. They’re strong, they’re fast and they’ve got endurance.
“They’ve also got great minds – they understand the game and they have the physical ability to adapt to difference styles of play.”
Mentor and Cookey complete a vastly experienced crop of 12 players in Tracey Neville’s squad ahead of the Netball World Cup but Seaton says the country would relish the chance to see Helen Housby take to the court.
The 20-year-old enjoyed a great domestic campaign with Manchester Thunder and could be the ace up Neville's sleeve.
“The nation has been calling out to see Housby play on the international stage,” Seaton said.
“She’s had two really good seasons in the Superleague and she’s asserted herself as an emerging Goal Attack, giving us hope that our shooting end will keep on flourishing when we see the likes of Cookey and Rachel Dunn retire.
“It would be great to see her play against the big teams to see how she fares.”
Seaton is excited to watch emerging countries with exciting talents challenge the established elite such as Australia and New Zealand when the World Cup begins.
A certain African nation particularly grabs the former Surrey Storm player’s attention due to the entertaining nature of their matches but there’s plenty to look forward to at the World Cup, says Seaton.
“The team I’m looking forward to seeing the most is Malawi because they’re unpredictable on the court, they’re so exciting,” she said.
“They’ll probably throw out a couple of upsets. Against New Zealand in the Commonwealths, they almost took that match.
“I’m looking forward to watching the smaller nations and seeing where they’re at. There are African nations that have really improved in the last four years.
“Also, the Jamaicans have power-house shooters. So whatever combination they put out is going to be pretty immense.
“We’ve been lucky enough to watch South Africa’s Bongi Msomi for Surrey Storm and she has put in good performances against the Superleague’s big names into the centre-court.
“I’m expecting to see the best netballers play the best netball.”
