Gold still the goal for dismal Ferns
SILVER Ferns captain Katrina Grant says that the belief of winning gold at the Commonwealth Games hasn’t changed.
Twice in the space of three days New Zealand have been defeated by Jamaica in the Taini Jamison Trophy, losing 59-53 in the final yesterday.
It’s hardly ideal preparation for the Commonwealth Games, which starts in 12 days, but despite the defeats, Grant says they can still go all the way in the Gold Coast.
‘‘Definitely, we’re not going over there and not aiming to win a gold medal, no way,’’ Grant said.
As the Jamaican players celebrated winning the trophy, the Silver Ferns looked forlorn, taking in another defeat against the Sunshine Girls.
Grand said these losses wouldn’t knock their belief, but would act as a motivation.
‘‘I don’t think it’s hurt our confidence, I think it’s made us hungrier and we really understand how much that hurts,’’ she said. ‘‘At the Commonwealth Games, knowing medals are on the line, you don’t want that to happen again. It’s not pleasant and it feels horrible.
‘‘Watching Jamaica celebrate at the end of the game. It’s something we all need to remember.’’
Silver Ferns coach Janine Southby felt their had been improvements in the team since the Quad Series at the beginning of the year, where they lost to England and Australia.
However, she said these defeats also highlight where they need to get better.
‘‘There was definitely improvement in some areas, but just not consistently across the whole game and that’s frustrating,’’ Southby said.
‘‘It’s certainly got to be addressed quickly and there were some times where we got ball down and scored and then got a couple of runs of two or three goals to pull back the deficit.
‘‘But then let ourselves down in the last 90 seconds of the quarter and that’s really frustrating.’’
A surprising selection call for the game was starting Bailey Mes at goal attack, with Maria Folau on the bench.
But it’s an experiment that only lasted for 10 minutes, with Mes yanked off after scoring just two from five and you do have to wonder where Mes’ confidence is at right now.
‘‘We make subs right through the game for what we see and we felt the change needed to happen early,’’ Southby said.
‘‘I thought Maria came on really well and that’s great for us. PHOTOSPORT
‘‘She’s backed up two performances and I think she’s come through her rehab from injury. I can see she’s going to have to keep working at it to make sure she doesn’t slip back, but I’m really pleased with the way she’s come through this week.’’
The players will now take a couple of days off and then reassemble for the Commonwealth Games. There is little time to make any significant changes, but Grant says need to make consistency a priority.
‘‘Keep playing, keep pushing, keep holding each other accountable,’’ she said of what needs to be done. If things aren’t going right we need to pull each other up on it and demand more from each other.
‘‘We’re starting to do that, we’re definitely improving on that. When we’re doing any team analysis, we’re knuckling down and pulling each other up, which is what we need.’’ New Zealand 53 (Ekenasio 15/19, Mes 2/5, Folau 22/26, T Selby-Rickit 14-17) Jamaica 59 (Fowler-Reid 51/56, S Beckford 8/12) Q1: 9-13; HT: 23-28; Q3: 39-44.