Coach rates Ferns’ firstup effort as ‘OK’
‘‘OK’’ was a word Waimarama Taumaunu used a few times, to describe New Zealand’s 73-28 win over Barbados.
The Silver Ferns coach had wanted an emphatic statement from the team, with which to announce that they’re the team to beat at the Netball World Cup. In reality, the performance was of the adequate variety and did little to suggest we’ve just seen the title winners in action.
Taumaunu ran with two distinct line-ups and each enjoyed mixed success. The first and last quarters were generally pretty good but what happened in the middle was less impressive.
‘‘It was OK,’’ Taumaunu said of New Zealand’s effort yesterday.
‘‘Barbados only got off the plane yesterday, we were aware of that. But they’re an okay team. That wasn’t the best outing.’’
She was pleased to give the full squad a run. What’s, probably, the first-string unit started the game, posting quarters of 21-7 and 15-6.
Only Grace Rasmussen stayed put after that, with Laura Langman the other player to remain on court. She switched from wing defence to centre, though.
The second unit went 17-11 and 20-4. The last of those quarters belonged to goal attack Jodi Brown, who’d come on for Maria Tutaia amid the wholesale halftime swaps.
‘‘I thought the first line started really well, I thought the second line finished really well,’’ Taumaunu said.
New Zealand meet Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday, before their highly-anticipated clash with Australia the following day. You would expect each ‘‘line’’ to again get a half each, before the best possible seven takes the court for the Diamonds game.
Hopefully, the bad things the Silver Ferns did will iron themselves out. They followed the instruction to ‘‘look long’’ and fire the ball around. It’s a sound tactic, perhaps the only ploy that has any hope of breaking through Australia’s defence.
But it was let down against Barbados by basic skill errors. The team committed 28 turnovers, 13 of which belonged to goal shoot Malia Paseka.
She shot 28/38 in her 30 minutes, having come on for Bailey Mes. The latter went at 24/31 which, while not outstanding, reinforced her status as the team’s premier goal shoot.
Elsewhere, Langman ran better at centre than Shannon Francois, as you would expect. Goal defence is one of the other positions up for grabs, with Katrina Grant starting against Barbados, before making way for Leana de Bruin.
There’s very little between the two of them, although Grant’s attacking game was good at times. For de Bruin, her appearance meant she’s now one of just six players to play in five World Cups.
Trinidad and Tobago will hopefully provide a sterner test than Barbados did. The lack of intensity didn’t do the Silver Ferns many favours, particularly the defenders.
The style and pace of the game made it difficult for them to work out when to come out and attack the ball. Phoenix Karaka, who came on for Casey Kopua at goal keep, led the intercepts with five.