Silence is golden for Silver Ferns
All the Silver Ferns who went to the Commonwealth Games in April were gathered in Auckland yesterday, with a national netball premiership triple-header on the cards at Pulman Arena.
Yet none of them wanted to be interviewed about the governing body’s review of that campaign, the findings of which were made public on Friday alongside the resignation of coach Janine Southby, according to a Netball New Zealand spokesperson.
That left Yvette Mccauslanddurie, the Central Pulse coach who was Southby’s assistant on the Gold Coast, as the only participant willing to share their perspective.
The review found players had lost confidence in themselves and the coaches in 2017, and that the team and coaching group had ‘‘fractured’’ after their loss to Malawi in pool play at the Commonwealth Games.
Mccausland-durie joined Southby and Netball NZ chief Jennie Wyllie in taking responsibility for the Ferns’ failings, and said the players had done so too.
‘‘I think they put their hands up each game and were very much about not pointing fingers at each other, and taking responsibility and for all of us, that learning has been huge, and we’re seeing the better part of them now [in the ANZ Premiership].
‘‘We’ve seen some great pieces in this ANZ Premiership where they are wanting to be out there saying ‘I am a Silver Fern and I can take control of my performance and I can own my job’. I’ve been really impressed with the way they’ve come into this campaign and it can’t have been easy.’’
Mccausland-durie came off contract with the Silver Ferns at the end of the Commonwealth Games, and she said her focus was now squarely on the Pulse, who remain top of the ANZ Premiership but lost to the Mainland Tactix yesterday.
Southby has not responded to a request for comment from Stuff and Mccausland-durie said they hadn’t spoken to since her resignation.
‘‘I know she’ll be fielding a lot of support in terms of where she’s at, and that’s always a tough space.
‘‘To have made a decision like that is really huge, so to her, just a huge respect for taking that opportunity, and I hope she finds another space in coaching, because they’re hard to come by, coaches – there’s very few of us in this country who get paid and who have that privilege.’’