Taurua backs change to quarter times
Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua has backed the decision to reduce quarter times in the ANZ Premiership, despite claims it went against her fitness-first philosophy.
The netball competition, which resumed last night in Auckland, will be played with four 12-minute rather than 15-minute quarters.
Player workloads and welfare has been cited as the reason, due to the condensed nature of the competition.
Former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering spoke out about the rule change earlier this week, voicing concern over the potential repercussions on upcoming Silver Fern campaigns and questioning the reasoning behind the decision.
Taurua, however, who was part of the decision-making process alongside the ANZ Premiership coaches and performance staff, believed it was the best approach.
“It is always a big deal because you are playing less time but we were open to have that trade-off knowing that we needed to manage that return to play,” Taurua said. “Even though it has gone to 12 minutes, it shouldn’t be detrimental to the physical side of the athletes and what we want to ensure is that we have quality netball out there so if they can do that in 12 minutes I’ll be happy and it shouldn’t really impact any other areas of the individual game.
“It’s a precautionary measure to make sure that we minimise injury and take care of the welfare.”
Taurua did, however, suggest the reduced game time be reviewed following the first few weeks of competition.
“We’re very cautious of the first three weeks to prevent injury, so whether those 12 minute quarters remain for the full 10 rounds, it may change,” she said.
“It’s a starting point and it was about trying to get everything together when we were in lockdown not knowing what the future held for us. I know that people will be open to make changes if necessary.”
Taurua will attend all games played in the first six weeks at the Auckland Netball Centre before the competition returns to a home and away format, with the finals series last night confirmed to be hosted in Invercagill.
Silver Ferns selections will be at the forefront of her mind with an October series all but set and the Constellation Cup still on the cards for late November.
Taurua said there were a range of things she’d be looking out for.
“First and foremost there’s still that physical side, that fitness standard that still remains so that’s probably the very first thing,” she said.
● The Northern Mystics restarted the ANZ Premiership with an impressive 47-40 win over the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Auckland last night.
After a three-month Covidinduced hiatus, the Mystics led 11-8 at the first break and edged ahead throughout the match.
Grace Nweke scored from 41 of her
45 shots, while the Magic converted just 40 of their 56 attempts.