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BALLARAT Rush young-gun Lydia Brooks has won a call-up to the Bendigo Bank Spirit's pre-season roster.
Brooks has been drafted in as insurance for injured pair Gabe Richards and Ebony Rolph.
Richards, a two-time WNBL All-Star and dual championship player, is continuing to recover from a foot injury.
She underwent plantar fascia surgery in July and is expected back for the Spirit's regular season opener against Adelaide Lightning on October 8.
Development player Rolph is recovering from a broken thumb sustained while playing for Geelong's SEABL team.
Coach Simon Pritchard said Brooks had impressed in the SEABL and deserved her opportunity with the Spirit.
“We will test her out pre-season and see how she performs," he said.
"We gave Ebony the same opportunity at the start of last season and she is on our roster now.
“Lydia can play as a big, so will be able to cover Gabe or Ebony in the early games."
The Spirit will play two practice matches in the lead-up to the 2016-17 season.
They will play the Melbourne Boomers at Ballarat on September 17, before taking on the Dandenong Rangers at Werribee a week later.
The Spirit had their difficulties with the Boomers and Rangers last season, going 1-2 in the head-to-head against both teams.
“Melbourne will have had a few more weeks together than us when we play them in Ballarat, but it should be a good contest,” Pritchard said.
“Both teams have strong support in Ballarat, and we are all really looking forward to it.
“We know both games are all about learning teaching and understanding our systems.
"All three teams won’t care about the results, it will just be about getting the groups together under pressure and seeing how they react.”
The Spirit will begin full training on September 5, with a full roster expected to be available within a few weeks.
“Nadeen Payne will be ready to go from day one and we will know more about Ashleigh Karaitiana after this week’s SEABL game,” Pritchard said.
“After a sensational Olympics, we are expecting (Canadian) Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe to touch down about a week after training starts.
“Blake Dietrick may be a bit longer, depending on whether she can secure another short-term WNBA contract."
Karaitiana will line-up for Brisbane Spartans in this weekend's east conference preliminary final against Nunawading.
The New Zealand-born former Australian under-19 representative leads the Spartans with a team-high 16.9 points per game.
Ticket details for the Ballarat and Werribee games are on the Spirit’s facebook page.