Silver Ferns talk the good talk

"I'm really excited with the group we've got. We've got a lot of work to do ... but we have total faith and belief that we can do it." Janine Southby, Silver Ferns coach, left

At some point, something will have to give.

All the work the Silver Ferns have been doing will pay off, and they will go back to regularly beating England, and being competitive against Australia.

Or it won’t, and big changes will have to be made.

The latter definitely won’t be happening between now and the Commonwealth Games, which begin for the Ferns on April 5 against Uganda, but will the former?

Just as it was before the Constellation Cup last October, and the Quad Series last month, the tone yesterday when the Commonwealth Games squad was named was one of optimism.

Already, a couple of small changes have been made. Uncapped defender Michaela Sokolich-beatson has come in, as has shooter Ameliaranne Ekenasio, with midcourter Whitney Souness and defender Jane Watson gone from the 12 that were thumped by Australia in Johannesburg less than two weeks ago.

But will they move the needle? We won’t know until April 11, when the Ferns have their most important pool match, against England, who beat them last time out in London, and the days that follow, when the semifinals and finals take place.

That is when they will walk the walk. For now, they can only talk the talk.

‘‘I’m really happy with the group that we’ve got,’’ said Southby yesterday.

‘‘I know it means a hell of a lot for them to be here. You can tell that when you ring them, and the excitement and the relief and the emotions that come through, and you also know from the ones that miss out, the emotion you hear from them as well.

‘‘I’m really excited with the group we’ve got. We’ve got a lot of work to do, we’re under no illusions as to what that looks like over the next eight to nine weeks, but we have total faith and belief that we can do it.’’

A lack of consistency and a lack of resiliency have been the Ferns’ twin problems of late. They have shown their potential only in patches, and when they have found themselves up against it, they have tended to collapse rather than fight back.

The players have often spoken of accountability and responsibility, and it is clear they know where they need to improve. The challenge now is to fix their problems while adding a couple of new faces to the mix.

Ekenasio is returning to the team after having a son last year, while Sokolich-beatson is yet to make her debut, and will likely get her first taste of international netball in the Taini Jamison Trophy, which involves Fiji, Jamaica and Malawi in Auckland at the end of March, on the eve of the team’s departure for the Gold Coast.

Southby said all 12 players would have to be ready to play at the Commonwealth Games if called upon.

‘‘It’s about developing the whole team of 12, and how we use that team of 12, because we know that going into a tournament, where you’re playing day-in, day-out, just having seven players doesn’t work - you’ve got to be able to have everyone out there, and that is the plan.’’

Sokolich-beatson has done well for the Northern Mystics at ANZ Premiership level, and Southby said she had been particularly impressed by the 21-year-old’s work ethic.

‘‘I know she’s really driven and determined, and she’s very organised and well-planned.’’