Bumbling Ferns must demand more of themselves
OPINION: These are the players who have dug the Silver Ferns into a hole and they’re the ones who will have to get them out.
New Zealand’s 12-strong Commonwealth Games squad will be unveiled on February 8 and it’s unlikely there’ll be any surprises.
Midcourt great Laura Langman, the second most capped Silver Fern in history with 141 tests, won’t be rushed in as Wonder Woman to bolster the side on the Gold Coast at the April tournament.
It’s going to fall on the senior players in the group, captain Katrina Grant, shooters Maria Folau (nee Tutaia), Bailey Mes, and wing attack Grace Kara (nee Rasmussen), who is still trying to cement her spot, to lift their play collectively and demand more from the group.
New Zealand have never not captured gold or silver at the Commonwealth Games since netball became part of the event in 1998.
After Sunday’s 64-57 extra time Quad Series loss to England in London, where the Silver Ferns squandered a six goal lead with 10 minutes left, the prospect of missing a medal altogether at the Commonwealth Games is a real one.
Grant told she could live with three Quad Series losses if it meant New Zealand were on top of the podium on the Gold Coast, but on Sunday’s evidence they are a million miles off that.
There’s no doubt Langman would instantly improve the midcourt, which battled on both attack and defence during October’s 4-0 Constellation Cup drubbing by Australia.
She may be an option for next year’s World Cup in Liverpool, England, should she want to keep playing. Langman hasn’t represented New Zealand since October
2016 after previously being barred because she was with Australian club, the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
The 31-year-old terminated her
2018 contract with the Lightning in November to take a year off and would need to sign with a Kiwi franchise before being considered.
While Langman is only one player, the Silver Ferns do have a poor 8-8 record against all nations since her last game in the black dress, including three losses to England.
With just two Quad Series matches left before the Commonwealth Games squad is announced, there is limited time for fringe performers like Phoenix Karaka, Whitney Souness and Jane Watson to push their cases.
Souness and the dropped Gina Crampton are probably in a head to head battle for the final midcourt spot. Shannon Francois’ experience will likely see her make the squad, even though her form in the black dress has been patchy and she lost her starting position for the Quad Series opener.
Temalisi Fakahokotau, Karaka and Watson could be be jostling for two defensive berths, alongside Grant and Kelly Jury, who might be nervous given her lack of recent court time.
The Silver Ferns have shown flashes of brilliance over the past
12 months, as evidenced in their
57-47 victory over Australia in Invercargill in September, but memorable performances like that have been few and far between.
Too many players are simply going through the motions and guilty of drifting in and out of matches. Very few could say they gave it their absolute all and left nothing on court in the Constellation Cup crushing and Sunday’s loss to England.
The bucks stops with coach Janine Southby and assistant Yvette McCausland-Durie, who were outgunned by their England counterparts in the crucial stages of the fourth quarter and extra time.
They must find a way to get the best out of their players and tracking in the right direction to prevent New Zealand’s worst finish at a Commonwealth Games. That is exactly where they are heading.