Super Netball's Cook won't be sold short

Mar 2, 2017 - 6:04 AM Adelaide Thunderbirds rookie Jane Cook wants to put the record straight after being sold short in her debut Super Netball match.

Cook is the tallest player in Australian netball, however there has been some conjecture around just how big she is.

Broadcasters inadvertently cut down the 19-year-old shooter in her first game of Super Netball last Saturday, when they incorrectly quoted her height at 199cm.

However, the Victorian Under-21 rep shooter says she was recently measured at 201cm and is proud of every millimetre.

"Obviously my height is a massive advantage, not many players have it," Cook told AAP.

"I haven't met anyone in netball who is taller than me, or over the two metre mark."

The Wodonga-born product is 3cm taller than Super Netball's next tallest player, West Coast Fever's Annika-Lee Jones (197.7cm) and 5cm taller than prolific Queensland Firebirds shooter Romelda Aiken.

Cook made her Super Netball debut last weekend against the NSW Swifts and impressed not only with her height but her wiliness to find the hoop from mid-range.

Her eight goals from 10 attempts gave the rebuilding Thunderbirds their only winning quarter for the match, which they lost 54-44.

Cook aspires to emulate parts of Aiken's game and become the Thunderbirds' go-to when she gets the opportunity.

"I've watched Caitlin (Bassett) and Romelda play for a few years and they are phenomenal at using their height and their leap, so I try to take something out of their game and adapt it into my own," said Cook, who won the ANL Premiership with the Victorian Fury last year.

"But at the same time being young I'm kind of trying to create my own style and have something else in my backpack because obviously there are going to be defenders who are going to be able to defend (the high ball), so you need another option like a front option or be more mobile in the ring."

The winless Thunderbirds host the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Adelaide on Sunday.

Source: AAP