Year from hell for the Silver Ferns
No picture encapsulated the Silver Ferns’ tumultuous 2018 better than the tears and humiliation at the Commonwealth Games.
After a 4-0 Constellation Cup clean sweep at the hands of Australia to close out 2017, the Ferns descended into freefall mode with the nadir coming on the Gold Coast in April.
New Zealand were never expected to capture gold, but a shock loss to Malawi in pool play – their first in history to the southeast African nation, was followed by three straight defeats to end the tournament.
The Ferns’ 60-55 loss in the bronze medal match to Jamaica – their third loss of the year to the Sunshine Girls, capped off New Zealand’s worst finish at a major tournament and the first time they had failed to medal at a World Cup or Commonwealth Games.
It also saw New Zealand briefly drop to third in netball’s world rankings for the first time with Commonwealth Games gold medallists England overtaking them.
The ramifications were farreaching with under-fire coach Janine Southby ultimately losing her job in July after a damning independent review into the team’s remarkable fall from grace.
Noeline Taurua, who many felt should have been named Ferns coach in 2015, succeeded Southby in late August, being tasked with the most challenging turnaround job in New Zealand’s proud and successful netball history.
‘‘We’re at the bottom of the cliff, but there’s so many good people that’s involved in netball and want us to do well,’’ Taurua told Stuff.
‘‘In some respect that has made the job easier because I don’t have to sell the dream. Either we stay where we currently are and do the same or are we prepared to make a shift.’’
Taurua is a realist and is under no illusions about the magnitude of the task confronting her.
After being confirmed as the 11th Silver Ferns head coach, she had just a matter of days with the team before their first test since the Games debacle, which they lost to England (52-39) in Auckland.
Under Taurua, they closed out the year with two wins and five losses, which included a 3-1 Constellation Cup series loss to the Diamonds. That assured the Ferns of their first calendar year with more losses than wins since 2009.
For the record, New Zealand lost 13 of 21 matches in 2018, a bleak record for one of world netball’s traditional powerhouses.
‘‘Placing fourth at the Commonwealth Games is not good enough. It’s not what I want for the team and not what the team wants and not what netball in New Zealand wants,’’ Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie says.
‘‘We had to address that and I feel very strongly having that independent review was the right thing for our game. It’s given us a platform to move forward.’’
The Ferns only have January’s Northern Quad Series and the Taini Jamison Trophy home series (against yet to be confirmed opposition) before July’s World Cup in Liverpool.
Midcourt great Laura Langman returned to the black dress after Taurua took the job, as did former Ferns captain and centurion Casey Kopua, who wasn’t able to take the court because of her recovery from a plantar fascia tear to a foot.
Langman’s addition came after a 695-day international hiatus after she was controversially barred from representing New Zealand because she was competing in the Australian league and then took time out from the sport.
There’s no doubt Langman and Kopua’s 249 combined test caps is a huge asset for the Ferns, with the review identifying a lack of experience at the Commonwealth Games as a key reason for their woeful results.
Missing a spot in the World Cup final would previously have been considered a catastrophe, but Taurua says they have to be pragmatic.
‘‘My expectation is definitely the top four and in the past we would’ve scoffed about that. We have to control as much as we can to be able to get into that top four.
‘‘We just cannot expect that it’s going to happen. Top four has to be it, otherwise I don’t think we should come home.’’
Despite losing the Constellation Cup to Australia for the sixth straight year, Taurua says there were elements of their play she was encouraged by.
The Ferns’ 55-44 victory in Hamilton was among their most dominant performances in several years with Jane Watson excelling in the defensive circle and Maria Folau slotting 40 goals from 41 attempts.
Four days later, they let themselves down with a sloppy 58-47 loss in Wellington, a match where they could have levelled the series with a win, or even regained the Constellation Cup with a crushing victory.
Taurua says it wasn’t all doom and gloom, labelling Australia’s showing as their most clinical for 2018. New Zealand had three less attempts at goal in that game, but converted just 72 per cent of their attempts, compared to Australia’s 85.
‘‘I feel we’ve got so much upside to the Silver Ferns and our game,’’ Taurua says.
Taurua is adamant spots remain open in the Ferns’ World Cup 12 and says players will have the opportunity to push their selection cases in both the Quad Series and domestic premiership, which starts earlier on February 24.
The Silver Ferns don’t have the winning record or player depth to discount anyone and Taurua reckons there are two places available in each third of the court.
A final twist in the Ferns’ drama-filled 2018 came when former skipper and centurion Katrina Rore, nee Grant, was this month axed from the Northern Quad Series squad. Experienced shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit also missed the cut with Taurua showing past deeds count for nothing, it’s all about the present and which players are in form.
There is no question New Zealand’s netball reputation has