Ferns brace for backlash
Katrina Grant isn’t afraid to admit that the first time she faced Australia, she was a wee bit scared.
That was in her international debut, nine years ago, at the Spark Arena in Auckland, but when she returns to that venue tonight, captaining the Silver Ferns in the first match of the Constellation Cup, she’ll have no reason to be.
‘‘I’m definitely not going to lie,’’ said Grant. ‘‘When I first came in I was probably a little bit scared of them - I probably gave them too much respect.’’
‘‘You’ve always got to know when you go out there that you’re better than your opposition and that you can take them on, and when you’re young, it’s tough to have that mindset,’’ Grant said.
‘‘Now, going into an Australian game, it’s about absolutely knowing that we can take them, and always take them, no matter what. It’s a nice change in the mindset.’’
Helping the team as they try to embrace that mindset is the fact that they are coming off a win last time out against the Diamonds, one of just five they’ve managed in their past 20 meetings.
‘‘It does give us a lot of confidence, and a lot of belief,’’ said Grant, of the 57-47 triumph in Invercargill at the start of last month.
‘‘Having that under our belts is huge going into the Constellation Cup, but when Aussie lose they come back absolutely firing, and we have all talked about that over the last couple of days.
‘‘They’re going to come out there and just take you if you take them for granted, so we’ve been preparing really hard for what they’re going to bring.’’
After Auckland tonight, the Constellation Cup moves to Christchurch on Sunday, then Adelaide next Wednesday, and Sydney next Saturday.
The Silver Ferns last won the series in 2012, and although they are the underdogs, they would love nothing more than to win the series, and make a statement heading into next year, and the Commonwealth Games.
Apart from the result, the most intriguing aspect of this series is how the team shapes up in the middle of the court, where coach Janine Southby has plenty of options, many of whom are still finding their feet at this level - the likes of Gina Crampton, Sam Sinclair, and Whitney Souness.
Grant identified the team’s
work in transition - both on attack and defence - as their biggest focus over the next four games, and getting the right mix in the middle will go a long way to helping them in that regard.
‘‘There still seems to be just two ends of the court, and we need to seamlessly make transitions easier,’’ said Grant.
‘‘It’s about working together more and that comes with time and communication and game play with each other.
‘‘It’s definitely coming. Over the past six or seven matches, we’ve grown hugely, I think - on court and off court.’’
The Silver Ferns were last on court three weeks ago, when they beat England in Hamilton to clinch the Taini Jamison Trophy, and Grant said the team can’t wait to get back out there.
‘‘You always look forward to the last test series of the year, because it’s always against Aussie, and you know it’s going to be the biggest challenge.’’