By James Buckley
Amy Parmenter has been elevated to the Giants' Super Netball squad to cover captain Kimberlee Green, who will have knee surgery to repair a ruptured left anterior cruciate ligament next Thursday.
Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald was quick to turn to mid-court training partner Parmenter, who turns 20 this year, but has left the door open to sign a more experienced player to replace ex-Diamond Green for the rest of the season, should the need arise.
Green collided with Erin Bell in the opening minute against the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Canberra last weekend, and was helped from the court in agony. The Giants notched a 15-point win in her absence, but copped another major blow this week when the diagnosis confirmed the worst – that she could be out for up to 12 months.
"Kim's a very tough cookie and to see her in that sort of pain and obviously a little bit of shock, we knew that it was serious," Fitzgerald said.
Big role: Amy Parmenter of the Giants makes a pass during the match between the Magpies and the Giants.Credit: Getty Images
"Once we got to come back to the change rooms and remember what we were really there for and exactly what Kim would want of us, I was really proud with how they regrouped in the second half.
"It knocks her out for the season but she's still our captain and will continue to be our captain. She hasn't missed a session yet, she comes along and waves her crutches around and tells the centre courts where they should be.
"She'll have a very active role in our team, she'll still be very much part of it and still our leader.
"She's that sort of character. She deals with what life throws at you. She's a realist, she knows what's happened, she knows what the answer to it is."
Green's injury casts a major cloud over the Giants' unbeaten start to the season, ahead of their biggest test yet – a trip to Melbourne to take on the second-placed Vixens where English international Jo Harten will assume on-court captaincy duties.
The Vixens have flown under the radar this season, but thrashed the highly fancied Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane last weekend by 16 points and pose a huge challenge for Fitzgerald's team on their home court.
Parmenter will likely start from the bench, but Fitzgerald was confident that the young star was ready for Super Netball.
"She's a great little centre-courter, she reads the ball really well, her attacking game's been improving throughout the year, she's a really untapped talent," Fitzgerald said.
"She's certainly one of the up and coming stars of the game. At the moment Amy's just a temporary replacement player, she's not there permanently.
"We'll work out exactly what is going to work for us over the next few weeks, we don't have to rush into anything.
"We have a lot of admiration for the Vixens, I think they play a great game of netball. You know every time you go down there regardless of where we sit on the ladder that it's going to be a really tough clean contest.
"It doesn't matter whether they're sitting first, second or last on the ladder, the Vixens are always a challenge."