Pulse coach targets dream title farewell
After three netball titles and five finals, Yvette McCausland-Durie tells why she’s bowing out of coaching.
Afourth ANZ Premiership title in five years would be some way for Yvette McCausland-Durie to sign off with the Central Pulse.
The much-loved coach has confirmed this will be her ninth and final campaign with the competition’s most successful team – who begin their title defence against the Magic in Palmerston North today.
McCausland-Durie thought she was done in 2020 after steering the Pulse to back-to-back titles in a season marred by the pandemic.
Gail Parata replaced her at the helm, but 2021 was a year to forget, winning just four of their 15 games and finishing fifth– a rare flop for the perennial title contenders.
Enter McCausland-Durie, who returned to the team that means so much to her, and had an immediate impact.
Despite having the youngest squad in the competition with an average of 22, the Pulse, who featured just four members of their 2020 title-winning side, emerged as champions again.
They also had to deal with season-ending knee injuries to midcourter Paris Lokotui and attacker Binnian Hunt, with Hunt going down in pre-season.
This will definitely be McCausland-Durie’s last season. She has carved out a fine record as Pulse coach, winning 59 of 79 premiership games (75% win rate), capturing three titles, and making another two grand finals in 2017-18.
She had grown from past disappointments, winning just five of 39 games in her first stint as Pulse coach in the former trans-Tasman league from 2009-11.
McCausland-Durie was also Silver Ferns assistant coach under Janine Southby during a dark chapter for the team, where they finished fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and failed to medal for the first time.
Spending half the year in Wellington, stepping aside from elite coaching would mean she could spend greater time with her Palmerston North based family and the Manukura school she is co-founder of.
‘‘This is me. I’m definitely done [after this season],’’ she said.
‘‘I’m really looking forward to getting started. Pre-season always feels really long. It’s a really important time, but everybody is
like now, ‘I think we’ve done what we need to do, we get it, does it work?’. We’ve got to get out there and say does it actually work?’’
The Pulse headed into last season with limited expectations, outside their playing group and management. They were written off by many, including the TAB who had them at $9 to win the title before the start of the season – second worst among the sides.
This season, they won’t be able to fly under the radar and sneak up on anyone.
Overcoming the departure of prolific goal shoot Aliyah Dunn, who has shifted south to the Tactix, and landed a competitionbest 618 goals at 93%, will be tough.
They have tried to plug her void by signing Malawi international Joyce Mvula, who has been a key member of the successful Manchester Thunder team in England’s Netball Superleague.
How Mvula goes against New Zealand defenders every week alongside the steady influence of Tiana Metuarau at goal attack will be critical. Talented young shooter Amelia Walmsley is also set for greater minutes this season.
‘‘I think it’s really about instead of worrying about defending it, everybody else has
set the same goal of wanting to make that premiership final, and so we’re no different. ‘‘We’re really trying to work and say we know what it takes and we’ve been there before. What are the things we’ve got to keep doing and what are the things that need to change.’’
Consistency across four quarters had been one of the areas McCausland-Durie wanted the team to improve.
Despite their pleasing results last season, the Pulse were guilty of lulls, sometimes following up an accurate quarter with a sloppy one.
In the midcourt, Whitney Souness and Maddy Gordon will be desperate to impress in World Cup year. Midcourt is the most congested area of the court for Silver Ferns selection, with possibly seven players scrapping for two spots behind Gina Crampton and Kate Heffernan, who are likely locked in.
McCausland-Durie used Gordon at wing attack and Souness at centre to start preseason,
but has since switched it up.
Gordon, who can play all three midcourt positions, will start the season at centre with Souness lining up at wing attack, where she has a strong connection with goal attack Metuarau.
Fa’amu Ioane, who has joined from the Mystics, and Ainsleyana Puleiata, who was the National League player-of-the-year last season for their second tier
Central Manawa team, will compete for starting wing defence.
Silver Ferns defender Kelly Jury will be an integral figure in the Pulse defensive end alongside either Kristiana Manu’a or Parris Mason.
Jury was the best player in the premiership last season, but taking her game to an even higher level in 2023 will be the challenge for her.