BY RICHARD BULLICK
EVERGREEN veteran Caroline O’Hanlon has been reappointed Northern Ireland netball captain by head coach Sheonah Forbes ahead of the three-Test series in Barbados which gets underway this weekend.
The Warriors squad of 14 left last Monday for the glamour tour to the Caribbean which was originally meant to feature a triangular invitation tournament called the Paradise Cup but unfortunately Malawi withdrew.
The African nation are ranked seventh in the world and have had some epic encounters with the girls in green over the years while hosts Barbados sit four places below Northern Ireland at 15th in the newly-updated official standings.
Northern Ireland’s most capped player of all time, O’Hanlon has captained her country since the summer of 2016 and had already committed to another new year with the Warriors as part of Netball NI’s high-performance programme.
The world-class centre was included in the Warriors squad for this Paradise Series when it was announced a few weeks ago but some wondered whether it might be significant that no captain was named at the time.
Long-serving vice-captain Fionnuala Toner led the team to a trophy triumph at May’s Europe Netball Open in the absence of O’Hanlon, who was playing gaelic football for Armagh in the Ulster showpiece the same afternoon as her Warriors were winning silverware.
The Warriors showed fantastic character in coming from behind to edge the United Arab Emirates 60-58 in Douglas while O’Hanlon’s Orchard crew were reclaiming the provincial crown by defeating Donegal after extra-time in Clones.
There were other credible alternatives too with Michelle Magee and Niamh Cooper being the vice-captains of O’Hanlon’s Leeds Rhinos and semi-finalists Severn Stars respectively in the 2024 British SuperLeague season.
Given that O’Hanlon, who has been in the Northern Ireland squad since 2002, turned 40 earlier this month and has struggled with injury recently, there would have been pragmatic grounds for Forbes to consider a captaincy change.
Like both her immediate predecessors, the former England Academy boss had retained O’Hanlon as captain when she took up post last summer and she clearly regards the mid-court maestro as still the right woman for the job.
That is testament to the ongoing hunger and dedication of O’Hanlon, who has been playing two sports successfully at the highest level for more than two decades and recently completed her 23rd consecutive season in the orange jersey of Armagh.
Experienced shooter Ciara Crosbie is ready to do some heavy lifting for Northern Ireland in the Paradise Series
We are now midway through the cycle from Birmingham 2022 to the next Commonwealth Games and there is speculation that an announcement could be imminent on where those will be staged after the withdrawal of original hosts Victoria.
That would be a real relief for everyone involved in netball as it has appeared at times that the Commonwealth Games might be doomed, but the suggestion seems to be that 2014 hosts Glasgow will step in again to save the day.
Lisa Alexander, who won the 2015 World Cup as Australia head coach has publicly backed O’Hanlon to keep playing until the 2026 Commonwealth Games while Armagh gaelic followers will hope she commits to another Orchard campaign.
A season which brought the Orchard outfit’s first ever National League title and a fourth Ulster Senior Championship success in five seasons ended with a narrow All Ireland semi-final loss to Kerry, who went on to lift the Brendan Martin Cup by beating Galway.
Armagh have shown they are credible contenders for the top prize and the Orchard’s chances next year should be boosted by the anticipated return from a cruciate rupture of ace markswoman Aimee Mackin, which could help persuade O’Hanlon to give it one more go.
Despite doubling up playing British SuperLeague games most weekends too, O’Hanlon was in excellent form throughout this spring’s National League and made the ceremonial Team of Division One at the NFL Awards.
However, she was significantly curtailed by a torn calf muscle in the All Ireland quarter-final and semi, with a lot of the damage being done during extra-time in the Clones showpiece against Donegal when the triple All Star played through the pain barrier.
O’Hanlon’s fitness for this series in Barbados must be in some doubt which perhaps explains why new NI Under 21 captain and Derry gaelic footballer Orla McGeough, originally named as a travelling reserve, has brought to Barbados as a 14th player.
After Friday night’s warm-up match against Barbados Under 21s, the Warriors will face the Bajan Gems on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, though those matches will technically take place the following day our time with 1.00am starts (Sports BB Youtube channel).
Northern Ireland have enjoyed good battles with Barbados, including defeating them 35-33 in a thrilling Quad Series final in Lisburn to qualify for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and also winning when the teams last met at the 2019 World Cup.
Along with her captain fantastic, Forbes welcomes back two other frontliners who missed the Europe Netball Open in O’Hanlon’s fellow doctor Cooper and Leeds Rhinos forward Emma Magee, whose sister Michelle was only available for the final of that tournament.
Toner remains as vice-captain, with Michelle Magee and lead shooter Orlaith Rogers also cited as part of an official leadership group, while the players from the Europe Netball Open squad to miss out here are Lisa Carlin, Tillie Irvine, Ana Mulholland and Olivia McCloskey.
Northern Ireland will be aiming to build upon that trophy triumph on the Isle of Man when they take on Barbados at the 4000-seater Garfield Sobers Complex in what is their first three-Test series since the tour to South Africa in 2012.
Despite being without that trio of frontliners, Northern Ireland made it five wins in four days at the Europe Netball Open by battling back to edge the dangerous UAE in a thrilling final having trailed in the closing stages.
That tournament was a very useful exercise for Warriors gaffer Forbes in terms of developing players and assessing squad depth but she will be pleased to have her big guns back on board for facing Barbados.
Northern Ireland have had some fantastic tussles with Malawi at major tournaments over the past decade and were looking forward to having another crack at a team featuring Joyce Mvula, who plays with O’Hanlon and the Magee sisters for Leeds Rhinos.
But there have also been memorable matches against Barbados, Northern Ireland winning 46-43 when these nations last met at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool, with six of the dozen Warriors on duty that day five years ago also being part of the squad of 14.
The survivors are the 2024 British SuperLeague quartet of O’Hanlon, Cooper and the Magee sisters along with Toner and experienced campaigner Ciara Crosbie, who may have been sweating on her place for this trip.
A back circle combo of Lauren Walshe (left) and Michelle Magee is one option for Warriors supremo Sheonah Forbes
With the expected return of big guns O’Hanlon, Cooper and Emma Magee, several players who were in the squad of 15 for the Europe Netball Open weren’t going to make the cut this time and seasoned shooter Crosbie struggled for form at that tournament.
By contrast, the previously uncapped Rosa McCloskey really grabbed her chance, netting exactly 100 times in the competition while sharing the goal attack role with her Kingsway club captain Georgie McGrath alongside Rogers up front.
Young Rogers has really established herself as Northern Ireland’s lead shooter, a problem position since the retirement of legends Noleen Lennon and Lisa Bowman, and was named as a vice-captain for the Europe Netball Open alongside Michelle Magee.
Rosa McCloskey’s older sister Olivia was a fairly peripheral fifth forward in the Europe Netball Open squad but, with Emma Magee a certainty to return if fit, Crosbie could conceivably have missed out if Forbes took only four forwards to Barbados.
However, with the long distance and four fixtures including a warm-up match against Barbados Under 21s, it was decided to name a squad of 13 rather than the normal tournament 12 so there was room for both Crosbie and Rosa McCloskey.
It was announced last week that McGeough, a Liverpool-based medical student sufficiently highly-rated that she has been spoken of as O’Hanlon’s possible longer-term replacement at centre for Northern Ireland, would make the trip too.
She opted out of Derry’s Ulster Junior Championship final against Fermanagh to win her first senior caps in that Europe Netball Open and McGeough will doubtless benefit from working closely with O’Hanlon on this tour.
Along with the three Tests and advance hit-out against Barbados U21s, an attraction of this tour for Forbes is having the players spending so much time together as she seeks to not only develop the team’s on-court identity but build the culture in the Warriors set-up.
Due to her Leeds Rhinos commitments, Michelle Magee didn’t feature at the Europe Netball Open until the final so others had to step up to take responsibility alongside the excellent Toner, who is set to continue in her other role as NI Under 17 assistant coach.
Accomplished playmaker Frances Keenan, who stepped out of her hero and mentor O’Hanlon’s shadow, and goalkeeper Lauren Walshe got their first tastes of captaining their country during that tournament, where Rogers was the official understudy to Toner.
Forbes may mix and match a bit across what is Northern Ireland’s first three match series since the tour to South Africa in 2012, but Belfast Ladies clubmates Walshe and Keenan could be effectively competing for one place in the first-choice starting seven.
Pairing Michelle Magee and Toner in the back circle enables Cooper and O’Hanlon to play in their preferred positions, with Keenan accommodated at wing attack, but the other option is to start Walshe at goalkeeper with everyone else shuffling forward a place.
Having broken into the starting seven at Birmingham 2022 at the expense of very experienced campaigner Michelle Drayne, the silky-skilled Keenan is now quite established but little livewire Evelyn McCagherty is also staking a claim for court-time at wing attack.
Given her recent injury problems, O’Hanlon seems set to be used sparingly in this series, so there should be plenty of opportunity for Walshe, Keenan and even McCagherty while back-up circle defender Maria McCann will also hope to get some court-time.
Having partnered Walshe in the starting seven at the Europe Netball Open, McCann unsurprisingly got the nod for Barbados over Irvine and Carlin, while the mid-courter to drop out is Crumlin’s Mulholland, who plays gaelic football for Antrim.
Rogers and Emma Magee look like the first choice combo up front but, while winning is important, Forbes may be keen to see more of prospect Rosa McCloskey, Crosbie must reassert herself as a strong option going forward and McGrath will want court-time too.
Then aged just 19 and 17 respectively, the Magee sisters got their first caps during that Quad Series which featured Barbados in the summer of 2017 and both have gone on not only to become two of the biggest Warriors stars but also British SuperLeague professionals.
NI WARRIORS (squad): Caroline O’Hanlon (capt), Fionnuala Toner, Lauren Walshe, Michelle Magee, Maria McCann, Niamh Cooper, Orla McGeough, Evelyn McCagherty, Frances Keenan, Emma Magee, Georgie McGrath, Ciara Crosbie, Rosa McCloskey, Orlaith Rogers.
The NI Warriors will be aiming to build on their trophy triumph at May’s Europe Netball Open on the Isle of Man
