Steel seeks perfection
IT was not looking so flash for a while there.
But this Southern Steel team is now humming along quite nicely.
The side has locked up a home preliminary final and carries a fourgame winning streak into its final roundrobin game of the ANZ Premiership.
That game — against the Northern Stars tomorrow in Auckland — may appear meaningless. However, if the Steel is to keep on the trajectory it has been on, a big performance is needed.
‘‘It sort of drives that confidence and that belief in the team,’’ coach Reinga Bloxham said.
‘‘Heading into those critical games it’s good for the players to feel that they’re working really hard together, that they have those connections and those combinations.’’
That confidence has been plain to see lately. The Steel has found a new life after backtoback losses against the Mainland Tactix and Northern Mystics.
Earlier there had been a 31goal drubbing from the Central Pulse.
It would have been easy to go into panic mode. However, Blox ham said rather than panicking, a review of the side’s processes helped it gain some clarity.
‘‘You have to make sure you’re bringing something new all the time.
‘‘Not that we just think it will happen, but we had to really focus on the things we wanted to get out of the game and what sort of game we wanted to bring on the court.’’
Bloxham, a meticulous planner, had targets throughout the season and the slow start was not altogether a surprise.
The side had been without key players for its preseason while they were away at the Common
wealth Games. That had made for a disrupted start and while the team had not been where she hoped through the middle of the season, it was now clicking as she expected.
Lessons had been learnt from the losses and combinations had become stronger.
It was all part of the pursuit of constant improvement.
‘‘Something that’s been a big drive for our season, last year and definitely this year, is each time we hit the court we try to be better than last time we were on there.
‘‘Just really striving for that 60minute performance this year is a really key factor for us.
‘‘We know we didn’t start off the best and then we had that patch in the middle, so trying to get that consistency throughout the whole game and throughout everyone’s game has been really important.’’
Earlier in the week Bloxham ruled herself out of applying for the vacant Silver Ferns coaching job.
Just like the players, getting to that level was always in the back of her mind, she said, although for now she was fully focused on the Steel and learning as much as she could as a franchise coach.
WELLINGTON: Netball New Zealand says it will appoint a head coach from overseas if they are the best fit for the Silver Ferns.
It has been seven days since Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie and panellist Don McKinnon dropped two edited videos on YouTube revealing the highly anticipated review findings.
Forty seconds into Wyllie’s clip it was announced that Netball NZ had accepted the resignation of former Silver Ferns head coach Janine Southby and, while the lack of surprise or disappointment showed exactly where the organisation stood on the matter, said the priority is to replace her.
The position has never been advertised publicly but Wyllie guaranteed that noone was shoulder tapped prior to Southby’s resignation and those qualified were welcomed whether they have gone through the Netball NZ coaching process or not.
‘‘We were advised on Friday morning of Janine’s resignation and at the time we were working on our findings, and we determined we were able to release them at a similar time.’’ Wyllie said.
‘‘We are actively looking for a head coach and we have strong candidates out there.
‘‘It might mean that we need to have a caretaker until such time as we can approach the right person.’’
As well as Southby’s resignation, assistant coach Yvette McCauslandDurie’s contract ended at the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games.
In an interview at last weekend’s Super Sunday in Auckland, the Central Pulse head coach said Southby’s resignation was a surprise to her and she had not reapplied.
There are seven weeks to go before New Zealand host the Netball Quad series against Australia, England and South Africa, and there is still no Silver Ferns coaching structure or caretaker in sight.
Despite the ruling around international eligibility for players, desperation may prevail, with Wyllie open to the possibility of appointing an offshore coach.
‘‘We are going to look at the best candidates and are also mindful of timeframes and the urgency to get the role filled,’’ Wyllie said.
‘‘Results are really important as well as experience and the ability to connect with the playing group, so there are a number of criteria that we look at.’’
The ANZ Premiership grand final in Palmerston North will take place on August 12. The Silver Ferns squad to compete in September is expected to be announced two days later.
❛ We are going to look at the
best candidates and are also mindful of
timeframes and the urgency to get the role
filled