Star England goal shooter Helen Housby has flagged her interest in joining the elite trans-Tasman netball league and she'd be welcome, according to Queensland and Australia defender Clare McMeniman.
The 21-year-old Housby is the rising star of English netball, recently catching the attention of the Diamonds with an outstanding series in January despite Australia producing a 3-0 clean sweep.
Housby is under contract with the league-leading Manchester Thunder in the English Superleague, which overlaps with the trans-Tasman competition, and has another year of university - but says a move to Australia is firmly in her thoughts.
"I have given it quite a lot of thought. I am still young and I've got one more year of university left over here," she said.
"That is something that I would be quite interested to do in the future but we'll see how it plays out."
Should Housby make the move, she'd follow in the footsteps of several England teammates - including captain Jade Clarke, who will play for the Adelaide Thunderbirds this year after switching from the NSW Swifts.
"All the girls rave about it and they love it over there. They've only got positive things to say about (the league)," she added.
"I watch it and I love the competition. I think it's great to see netball so professional over there.
"It's something that I'd really look into in the future."
McMeniman, who captained Australia in the January series, was hugely impressed by Housby's performance - with the youngster rallying against the world champions to shoot a series-best 78 goals at 91 per cent.
"Helen Housby is an incredible shooter," McMeniman said.
"She shoots from anywhere in the circle and is extremely dangerous.
"She's the future of English netball."
McMeniman pointed out that there would need to be a franchise willing to take on the star shooter ahead of a local product, but said Housby would still be welcomed with open arms by the competition.
"We would welcome any international player into our competition if they fit within a lineup and it's good for the franchise," McMeniman said.
"We don't just want it to be an Australia and New Zealand-dominated international series.
"Helen would fit into championship netball really nicely and if there's a team that would like her it would fantastic to have her over there.
"It's not only going to benefit them, it will benefit her and England as well. (England are) improving every year, we see that.
"We've always got our eye on what other countries and other players are doing, and she was definitely outstanding for England."
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