Kopua, Jury back in Ferns squad
Former captain Casey Kopua and fellow defender Kelly Jury will make their return from injury during the Silver Ferns December training camp in Auckland.
Coach Noeline Taurua has named 25 players, including the 2018-19 Silver Ferns squad, to attend the week-long camp over December 10-14.
Kopua (plantar fascia tear to a foot) and Jury (dislocated shoulder) will both be back on court after missing September’s Quad Series and the 3-1 Constellation Cup series loss to Australia through injury.
Outside the 17-player 2018-19 Silver Ferns squad, Taurua has called up midcourters Erikana Pedersen, Whitney Souness, Shannon Francois, Claire Kersten and Kimiora Poi, as well as defenders Sulu Fitzpatrick, Erena Mikaere, and shooter Monica Falkner, to provide added competition for spots ahead of January’s Quad Series in England.
Fitzpatrick, Souness, Kersten, and Poi were all members of the New Zealand side that captured the Fast5 World Series title in Melbourne on Sunday.
Mikaere, who won back-toback titles under Taurua at the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Australia, has returned to New Zealand to play for the Northern Mystics next year and is an intriguing prospect.
‘‘We need to provide as many opportunities to players and coaches so that we keep our options open, create internal competition, and ultimately raise the quality and standard of our game,’’ Taurua said.
The pre-Christmas camp is also a chance to simulate the format and intensity they can expect to face at the World Cup in Liverpool in July next year, with back-to-back games, fitness testing sessions, and trainings over five days.
All six national premiership franchise coaches have been invited to take some part in the Silver Ferns camp, which Taurua believed was a key step to forge a closer working relationship with the franchise coaches.
The next selection for the new national coach to consider will be for January’s Quad Series tour to England, where the Silver Ferns will meet Australia, South Africa and England. The 12 players to travel to Liverpool and London for the Quad Series will be named on December 14.
Defender Temalisi Fakahokotau will attend the camp, but is sidelined with a long-term injury after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in September. Fakahokotau has undergone knee surgery.
Silver Ferns December training camp squad: Karin Burger, Gina Crampton, Aliyah Dunn, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Temalisi Fakahokotau, Maria Folau, Katrina Grant, Kelly Jury, Casey Kopua, Laura Langman, Bailey Mes, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Samantha Sinclair, Michaela Sokolich-Beatson, Elisapeta Toeava, Jane Watson, Maia Wilson, Sulu Fitzpatrick, Erikana Pedersen, Whitney Souness, Shannon Francois, Claire Kersten, Kimiora Poi, Erena Mikaere, Monica Falkner.