Coaching change possible in ‘open’ Silver Ferns review

Replacing Janine Southby as Silver Ferns coach is on the table, as Netball New Zealand embarks on a comprehensive review of its high performance programme, in the wake of the team’s fourth-place finish at the Commonwealth Games.

Led by an independent expert who is yet to be appointed, the review panel is set to present its findings to Netball NZ’s board in early June, with chief executive Jennie Wyllie not ruling anything out yesterday.

‘‘I don’t think anything’s off the table,’’ she said.

‘‘We need to be very open and transparent in what we’re doing. We need to put measures in place which allow us to rebuild and come back from this even more strong than we are now.’’

Southby’s position has been described as untenable in the wake of the Silver Ferns’ capitulation on the Gold Coast, where they lost to African nation Malawi for the first time, scraped into the semifinals on goal percentage, failed to make the final for the first time and lost to Jamaica in the bronze medal game.

Appointed in 2016, Southby is contracted through to the end of next year’s World Cup. In the aftermath of Sunday’s loss to Jamaica, she said she would wait for the review to take place before making any decisions about her future.

Wyllie wouldn’t comment on Southby’s position, except to point to the review, which will start in two weeks, when players return from postGames leave.

‘‘The review is first and foremost the biggest tool that we can use, in working out what didn’t work and where we need to go to from here. We need to let that run its course before we make any decisions,’’ Wyllie said.