Cup race heats up for Ferns hopefuls MONDAY’S SOLUTION
Across: 1 Inn, 3 Limb, 5 Beau (In limbo), 8 Immobile, 10 Gift, 11 See, 13 Cream, 14 Solicitor, 16 One, 17 Cot, 19 Timepiece, 21 Broke, 22 Rug, 24 Edam, 25 Sayonara, 26 Over, 27 Less, 28 Kin.
Down: 1 Iris, 2 Name, 3 Lubricated, 4 Mallet, 6 Evidence, 7 Ultimate, 9 Melon, 12 Scrupulous, 14 Sombrero, 15 Lemonade, 18 Occur, 20 Manage, 22 Rank, 23 Gain.
Noeline Taurua’s words should be ringing loudly in the heads of aspiring Silver Ferns during the national netball premiership.
The third edition of New Zealand’s domestic competition begins in Hamilton on Sunday and is essentially an audition for July’s World Cup in Liverpool.
Ferns coach Taurua told Stuff after January’s Northern Quad Series she probably had half of her 12-player squad locked in. The other six names will be determined over the premiership season.
Taurua issued a challenge, telling the players to put forward such a compelling case for their clubs that she can’t overlook them when she reveals her squad on May 23 – the day after the last premiership round match.
She said everybody in New Zealand netball would know her World Cup squad because they’d be the ones to stand out from the pack in the ANZ Premiership.
The conundrum for Taurua and assistant Debbie Fuller is there’s more confusion than clarity around the chosen 12 – five months from the start of the global tournament.
Captain Laura Langman, Maria Folau, Casey Kopua, and Jane Watson are certainties with starting wing attack Gina Crampton a strong probable.
Ameliaranne Ekenasio has likely booked her plane ticket too, having made such an impression, lining up at goal attack alongside Folau in the Northern Quad.
Taurua has been searching for a starting shooting combination, capable of putting up a steady volume of goals but not onedimensional holding shooters.
Ekenasio teamed up well with Folau and landed 53 goals from 63 attempts (84 per cent) – a vast improvement from other players used in last year’s Constellation Cup and Quad Series.
Wing defence-circle defender Karin Burger was the other big mover in January’s matches and another strong season with the Pulse would just about seal her spot. No player has more of a point to prove than former captain and 125-test veteran Katrina Rore (nee Grant), who was axed for the Northern Quad Series after an underwhelming Constellation Cup and quiet December national training camp.
Rore was devastated by the news and last year’s premiership MVP will surely come out firing for the Pulse.
There have been whispers about Rore possibly being an option at wing defence at the World Cup, which would give the Ferns a strong starting back three of Grant, Kopua, and Watson – allowing them to gain greater defensive turnover ball. Midcourter Sam Sinclair must shine for the Magic if she’s to secure her spot in what’s fast becoming a congested midcourt.
Sinclair looked alarmingly out-ofsorts at the Northern Quad and lost her starting spot by the end of the series.
The Ferns appear to favour Langman in the starting centre bib, rather than wing defence. That could spell trouble for Sinclair if other WD options like Burger, Grant, and a healthy Kayla Cullen outshine her.
A fit-again Cullen and returning defender Kelly Jury, who missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, is a boost and creates further competition for selection.
With Temalisi Fakahokotau expected to miss the entire Tactix campaign as she recovers from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, Rore and Jury will be gunning for defensive berths with Phoenix Karaka, Sulu Fitzpatrick, and Erena Mikaere outside chances.
Whitney Souness will need to outplay Crampton to nab the Ferns’ wing attack bib, as they’re unlikely to take two specialists in one position. Kimiora Poi’s ability to cover centre and wing attack, and outstanding fitness, could give her the inside running for the backup midcourt position.
Taurua took only three shooters to England in January and, if she does the same for the World Cup, it will be an intense battle.
Aliyah Dunn, Bailey Mes, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Maia Wilson, and Monica Falkner could all be jostling for a solitary spot behind Folau and Ekenasio. The World Cup race is well and truly on.