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''See the Southern Steel main article for more information'' The Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed as an amalgamation of two teams from the National Bank Cup, the Dunedin-based Otago Rebels and the Invercargill-based Southern Sting. After the National Bank Cup was retired in 2007, the newly formed Steel joined four other New Zealand franchises in the new ANZ Championship, representing the New Zealand regions of Otago and Southland. Home games in the ANZ Championship are usually played at Stadium Southland in Invercargill, with some matches also played at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin. For the 2011 season, most home games will be played in the Invercargill ILT Velodrome adjacent to Stadium Southland, after heavy snow caused the roof of the main venue to collapse. == Formation == The Southern Steel were formed as an amalgamation of two teams from the previous National Bank Cup: the Otago Rebels and the Southern Sting. The National Bank Cup played its final season in 2007, after which it was announced that a new trans-Tasman netball competition would replace it. Five New Zealand teams were approved for the new competition – three from the North Island, two from the South Island – in early May 2007, including one representing Southland and Otago. Southern TeamCo was set up to develop the new Southland-Otago franchise. Robyn Broughton, coach of the Southern Sting that dominated the National Bank Cup, was appointed as head coach for the new team early in the development stage. Donna Wilkins was signed as assistant coach in December that year. Suggestions were invited from the public for a name for the new franchise, but the most popular ideas – including 'Ice', 'Roar', 'Fusion' and 'Seanix' – were ruled out for various reasons. A brand-specialist company based in Christchurch was consulted, who came up with the name 'Steel'. This name was unanimously agreed upon by the Southern TeamCo board and announced in November 2007, along with the franchise's new logo. After prolonged negotiations between the New Zealand Players Association and Trans Tasman Netball Ltd, New Zealand franchises were allowed to begin recruiting players in late December 2007; this included the allowance of one import player. The team for the 2008 ANZ Championship season, comprising twelve players, was confirmed and announced on 26 January 2008. The team contained four Silver Ferns (Debbie White, Liana Leota, Katrina Grant, Daneka Wipiiti), two experienced former internationals (Megan Dehn and Jenny-May Coffin), two New Zealand A squad members (Erika Burgess, Jessica Tuki) and three New Zealand U21 team members (Te Huinga Reo Selby-Ricket, Wendy Frew, Julianna Naoupou); Megan Hutton was previously an overall MVP in the English Netball Superleague. Donna Wilkins, who previously played for the Southern Sting, signed as an assistant coach rather than as a player. Previous Silver Ferns captain Adine Wilson was unavailable for selection, but announced her intention to return to competitive netball and the Steel for 2009. Tania Dalton was drafted onto the Steel bench during the season, covering injuries. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Southern Steel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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