Common goal
Ferns coach won’t walk away
Silver Ferns coach Janine Southby knows her team’s recent results have been disappointing.
But she also knows what her squad is capable of and wants them to show it at the Commonwealth Games.
Since the end of August, the New Zealand side has won just four of 12 matches, including just one of three in the Quad Series earlier this year.
Southby told Radio Sport the lack of positive results was frustrating but she had no intention of resigning.
“No excuses, we know it’s not good enough. A big thing is we’ve really got to eliminate those basic errors and people have to take accountability for that and that goes from me right down to the players, it’s across the whole group,” she said
“From my point of view, we look at everything we do, we are changing up little things. I’ve been tasked with going into the Commonwealth Games and World Cup, and when I was appointed to the role, it was said very clearly there’s a lot of things we need to keep addressing and that’s been learning from previous cycles and some of these things take time.”
The Silver Ferns have beaten Australia just twice in 12 meetings since Southby replaced Wai Taumaunu at the helm in 2016.
They’ve shown they’re capable but not on a consistent basis. That’s something Southby said was being addressed as they eyed a run at the gold medal on the Gold Coast in April.
“I believe we’ve got the capability in the group to turn this around,” Southby said.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned in our quest to be the best we can be. We’re under no illusion how hard it is and we’re prepared to get in and get our hands dirty.”
The team for the Commonwealth Games is set to be named on Thursday, and Southby said she believed the players in the squad were the best in the country.
“It’s about these guys backing themselves and having that belief and doing the hard work.”