Cynna Kydd

Full name	Cynna Kydd (née Neele)
Date of birth	September 18 1981 (1981--) (age 26)
Place of birth	Kyabram, Victoria, Australia
Current position	goal shooter
Current Team	Melbourne Phoenix
Years with Team	2006–present
Previous Teams	Melbourne Kestrels (2000–2006) Australian national netball team (2003–2005)
Infobox last updated on: December 20, 2006.

Cynna Kydd (née Neele; born September 18 1981) is an Australian netball player.

Kydd is was the goal shooter for the Melbourne Phoenix in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy but has now moved to play in New Zealand. Her position with the Phoenix team follows a controversial defection from rival team the Melbourne Kestrels in early 2006. Kydd had been a part of the Kestrels since 2000, and was the Kestrels captain from 2005 until her defection.

An often accurate and high-scoring shooter, Kydd was voted as the Commonwealth Bank Trophy's Most Valuable Player in 2004, and was a frequent member of the Australian national netball team from 2003 to 2005; however, injury and a downturn in form saw her dropped from the national side in early 2005. Although she took some time to settle in at the Phoenix after her sudden departure from the Kestrels, she subsequently recovered to have a successful season.

Early life

Kydd was born in the Victorian regional town of Kyabram, and began playing competitive netball at age nine.^[6] Though also a talented swimmer, she was forced to make a choice between the two sports, and ultimately chose netball. She played for local and Goulburn Valley representative teams as a teenager and, in 1998 at the age of 16, was selected to play for the dominant Eastside Netball Club in the state Dairy Farmers State League competition, alongside three players from the national league. Despite a regular three-hour commute and having to juggle sporting commitments with studies at Kyabram Secondary College, she played an integral role in Eastside's premiership that year.^[7] She was subsequently named in the state under-21 squad for the annual Australian National Netball Championships and in the Melbourne Kestrels squad for the 1999 season.^[8][9]

Although she had never played a national league game, Kydd was selected in the national under-21 (U-21) team in 1999, which, as a result of reforms made that year, automatically saw her admitted to the Australian Institute of Sport.^[10] She spent the 1999 season playing for the AIS team in the Victorian state league, before switching to their South Australian counterparts for the 2000 season. Kydd, at 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) tall, established a reputation as an effective shooter, and formed a key part of the team, although she was often kept out by her commitments with the national U-21 team.

Commonwealth Bank Trophy debut

Main article: Commonwealth Bank Trophy

She made her debut for the Melbourne Kestrels in April 2000 but, because of her relative inexperience, was asked to play only two games for them over the season.^[11] In May she was selected to tour Jamaica with the U-21 team, and was widely praised for her performance. Two months later, she was selected in the Australian squad for the Youth World Cup in Wales, where she scored highly and played a vital role in Australia's domination and eventual victory. At season's end Kydd was named in the state open team for the national championships and, while remaining in the U-21 squad, was also named in the initial national open squad, despite having only played two national league games. However, the national squad was at the time enjoying an unusual glut of strikers, and she was cut amidst fierce competition from six other prominent shooters, all aiming at just three positions in the final team. Her disappointment was, however, partly offset when she won the Commonwealth Bank Trophy's Best New Talent award, worth AUD$5,000, in February 2001.^[12]

Kydd graduated from high school at the end of 2000, and moved to Kensington, in Melbourne, in February 2001 to study tourism and hospitality at Victoria University. At the beginning of the 2001 season, two of the Kestrels' main stars, Shelley O'Donnell and Janine Ilitch, both announced that they would be sidelined for most or all of the season because of pregnancy, and Kydd was called upon to fill the vacancy caused by their departure.^[13] She became a core player instantly, and although the Kestrels struggled, Kydd formed an effective combination with goal shooter Amanda Burton (who she had previously played with in the interstate competition). Kydd was among the team's standout performers and was frequently praised in the media for both her accuracy and consistency, coming away at season's end with 390 goals and the fifth highest scoring average in the competition. She continued to represent Australia in under-21 competition, being selected for several home matches against England and a tour of New Zealand, and was again selected in the national open squad in the lead-up to the 2002 Commonwealth Games, but was once again cut from the final team.^[14]

Furthering her career

Though she had missed out on Commonwealth Games selection, Kydd had established a reputation as a particularly difficult opponent by the beginning of the 2002 Commonwealth Bank Trophy season. She was consistently among the league's top goalers, particularly after she was again paired with Burton, due to the axing of struggling new recruit Kristy Doyle. She scored her 500th goal with the Kestrels in the middle of the season, and excelled against some particularly difficult opponents, including then-Australian captain Kathryn Harby-Williams. She was integral in helping the Kestrels make the semifinals for the first time since 1999, and was the third-highest scorer in the league. Kydd was again named in the extended national squad at the end of the season, and finally survived the cut, being named in the squad to tour Jamaica in early 2003, beating rival shooters Jane Altschwager and Megan Anderson for the vacancy caused by the retirement of veteran player Jacqui Delaney.

International selection

At only 21 Kydd was the youngest player on the tour of Jamaica^[15] and, while she toured with the remainder of the team, was overlooked for a Test position. She finally made her full debut against South Africa not long afterwards, and managed to cement her position with a superb performance, managing an accuracy rate of 94% in the third test.^[16] This performance, along with similar form in the national league, led to her selection in the starting squad for the 2003 Netball World Championships. She played every game in the world championships in July at the expense of ageing veteran Eloise Southby, a decision which was the cause of some controversy.^[17] She subsequently helped the Kestrels to the elimination final and, at the end of the season, was named as the team's new vice-captain, with predecessor Janine Ilitch assuming the captaincy. She also won the coveted Commonwealth Bank Trophy Player's Player Award, and tied for third in the Most Valuable Player count.^[18]

Career peak

After several seasons gaining experience, Kydd reached her peak in the 2004 season. She was rarely troubled in the national league all year, scoring 436 goals at an average accuracy of 79%; statistics among the best in the league.^[19] Although Burton had retired, creating a supporting void that the Kestrels struggled to fill, she again played a vital role in the team reaching the finals series. She also established her place as a regular member of the national team, playing in Test series against South Africa and New Zealand and a practice match against England. Though she struggled initially against the Silver Ferns, Kydd improved over the space of the series and was awarded player of the match in the third Test. At the end of the tour, she was given some praise for being among Australia's best in what had been an otherwise disastrous series.^[20] She was rewarded for her form when she was a surprise choice for the 2004 Commonwealth Bank Trophy Most Valuable Player Award, being selected over favourite veteran internationals Catherine Cox and Sharelle McMahon.^[21] When Ilitch was ruled out for 2005 because of pregnancy, Kydd was the natural choice to replace her as Kestrels captain, and she was soon announced as the team's new captain.^[22]

Form slump and injuries

Kydd graduated from university at the end of 2004, but found herself having significant difficulty finding employment, as her netball commitments scared off prospective employers.^[23] She also became engaged to Garth Kydd, whom she married in April 2006, a member of the Australian men's netball team, and was widely expected to again feature among the league's best. However, she was disappointing against South Africa in February, and struggled in the opening games of the national league season, a result largely attributed to nerves associated with the captaincy.^[24] She began to recover her form, but in May broke her finger, and while she continued to play, this severely inhibited her performance for four weeks.^[25] In June she was dropped from the national team for the first time in two years because of poor form and injury, with national coach Norma Plummer stating that she was "very disappointed that [Kydd had] let it drop" and that she "never thought she would have to [cut her from the team]".^[26][27] The ageing Southby-Halbish was brought in to replace her, and Kydd admitted that her accuracy had been well below ideal levels.^[28] She improved markedly over the following two rounds, but on July 23 suffered major concussion after being hit hard in the head during a match against the Adelaide Thunderbirds, which required her to be taken to hospital.^[29] Though it was thought that she had recovered quickly when she played brilliantly against the Perth Orioles the following week, she was dogged with complications for the remainder of the season.

In an attempt to regain her position in the national squad, Kydd attended the extended squad's first training camp in September 2005, but was one of several players forced out after succumbing to a virus. She was subsequently left out of the team for a practice tour of Jamaica and New Zealand in the lead-up to the 2006 Commonwealth Games, but continued her efforts to make the team for the Games. Finally, on December 10 2005, she voluntarily withdrew her name from selection, noting ongoing complications from the earlier concussion (team doctors stated that she had probably attempted to return too quickly) and low motivation.^[30]

Defection to the Melbourne Phoenix

After withdrawing from the Commonwealth Games squad, Kydd took a four-month hiatus from the sport in order to recover from injury and regain motivation. She married fiancee Garth in April 2006, and though widely known by her maiden name, decided to take on her husband's surname. ^  Kydd began the process of re-signing with the Kestrels for the 2006 season, and returned to training with the club with March 2006, but stunned the team when she defected to more successful rival Melbourne Phoenix only three weeks before the start of the season.^[1] The defection caused notable antagonism between the traditional rivals, and Kydd's former coach, Jane Searle, and several teammates expressed shock at the suddenness of the switch.^[2]

After six years at the Kestrels, the defection saw Kydd forced to adapt to a new shooting combination with veteran international Sharelle McMahon. As she had had little opportunity to train with the new team before the opening of the season, the pair initially had some difficulty adjusting to each others style.^[3] After a tenuous start, however, the pair found form, and were able to form a relatively successful combination. Kydd scored 360 goals in the season, and assisted the Phoenix in becoming the top scoring side for the season, although occasionally patchy form from the team as a whole saw the Phoenix slip outside the top two at season's end.^[4][5] Kydd did not make a return to international selection during the season, however, and will have to wait until December to find out if she has qualified for the Australian team for 2007.

Notes and references

External links

• Cynna Neele statisticsPDF
• Cynna Kydd's Player Profile