The Northern Cape Diamonds are currently locked into Power Week 2 of the annual Telkom Netball League (TNL), aiming to move up the log.

Speaking from Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg, coach Karien Opperman says the Diamonds’ goal for this year’s TNL is to finish in the top four of Division 2, or, even better, achieve a podium finish.

The Diamonds have quite a large group of new players in the selected 16-player squad, Opperman says. Only seven players have previously played in, or been part of, a TNL group before.

“So we do have a young and relatively inexperienced squad, but also one with a lot of potential and excitement for the future.”

Opperman says one of Northern Cape’s biggest challenges is the size of the region.

“Unlike many other teams that are able to train together weekly, we can mostly only have weekend training camps. Before the tournament we only had one full weekend with the players together.

“Our focus was mainly on building combinations and introducing some of the non-travelling players into the systems. This year, with players writing exams and availability changing from leg to leg, we knew we would not always travel with the same 12 players.”

Opperman says that creates challenges as some players don’t get the same exposure or settle into the pressure and intensity of a high-performance TNL environment as quickly as those who played in the first week.

ALSO READ: Five wins push Northern Cape’s Diamonds up in Telkom Netball League

The focus of training for this year’s TNL was placed on the Diamonds’ centre-pass structures, as the team has a strong defensive setup.

“If you can consistently convert your centre pass, you have already secured around 50% of the game. Our focus was therefore on getting clean ball delivery to the shooters and improving our attacking flow. We did struggle to execute that consistently in our first game of Power Week 2, but it remains an important focus area for us.”

Diamonds rise to the occasion – and up the log

For the first leg of TNL 2026, Andiswe Dlamini and Colene Dercksen were the captains. With Dlamini, a student at Sol Plaatje University, currently writing exams, Senesti Poni was brought in as captain since her experience and leadership would help guide the team.

In Power Week 1, the Diamonds impressed by climbing to third place on the log. By the end of last year’s TNL, the Diamonds climbed from ninth to seventh on the log.

Power Week 2 commenced on 22 May and will be concluded on Sunday 31 May. Games played by Diamonds by Tuesday are:

• lost by 37-53 against Sonoblomo;
• lost by 41-45 against Tshukudu (Diamond Keletso Gontho was announced Player of the Match);
• won Lilies by 52-40 (Diamond Jana Swart was announced Player of the Match); and
• won Sunbirds by 55-50 (Diamond Colene Dercksen was announced Player of the Match).

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