Shooters not to blame for loss: Folau
AUCKLAND: Maria Folau has defended her shooting performance during the Silver Ferns’ loss to England on Saturday afternoon.
In their first outing since the Commonwealth Games, the Ferns went down 5239 in the Quad Series opener at Auckland’s Spark Arena, their biggest defeat to the Roses.
With the Katrina Grantled defensive unit in sublime form, despite the loss of the injured Temalisi Fakahokotau, it was the ineptitude of Folau and Ameliaranne Ekenasio that proved most costly.
The Ferns’ shooters, who had five more attempts at goal than their English rivals, made just 68% of their shots, a statistic deemed not good enough by Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua.
‘‘There are five other players on court that need to take responsibility for what we do,’’ Folau said.
‘‘We just had an off day, that’s all. If you look at it as a whole, there were things that happened across the whole court. It is a team sport.
‘‘As someone who’s been there for a long time you’re always going to feel responsible but we all feel responsible, actually. The ball didn’t go our way and the English defenders did a really good job at putting the pressure on us.’’
Folau shot alongside
Ekenasio and Te Paea SelbyRickit before taking a seat on the bench in the final quarter.
Meanwhile, Bailey Mes, Maia Wilson, and newcomer Aliyah Dunn all watched from the sideline raising questions about whether Taurua could introduce a fresh starting seven tonight when the Ferns take on South Africa’s Proteas.
Keen to continue testing and accessing her new side, Taurua did not rule out the use of fresh legs in the shooting circle and said Saturday’s loss had given her plenty to ponder.
‘‘I think it gives us an opportunity to slightly tweak some of the combinations,’’ Taurua said.
‘‘I was very clear about what England posed plus also I really want to build a spine in the team.’’
‘‘I’m getting clearer on where those positions are and the personnel within those roles. ‘‘I’d love to get everybody on.’’ The Ferns had one training session yesterday before tonight’s game which focused heavily on reviewing what went wrong during Saturday’s disappointing loss.
Adamant that the Ferns’ rough start was just a bad day at the office, Folau was optimistic about the remainder of the series.
‘‘I think there were some great things out on court considering all the changes, brand new team, brand new coach . . . although the loss was very rough we know that it’s just the beginning.
‘We’ve just got to get on with it. We’re allowed to have an off day on court, everybody has their off days . . . we know that we can do a lot better.’’ — NZME