Taurua backs ‘mega’ teams
Silver Ferns head coach Dame Noeline Taurua has thrown her support behind the prospect of “mega-franchises” being explored in New Zealand.
The idea, which would essentially see single overseeing organisations run several teams across various sporting codes, was put forward by former New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew, and revealed in documents obtained by Stuff under the Official Information Act.
Taurua has experience working under the mega-franchise model, having coached the Sunshine Coast Lightning who are in a joint venture with the Melbourne Storm and University of the Sunshine Coast.
She saw little reason why it couldn’t work in New Zealand.
“We’re all asking and looking for resources and funding and we’re all competing in the same pool of money,” Taurua said.
“I can only relate it to my experiences over in Australia — with the Melbourne Storm being so professional and such a successful organisation, we were able to piggyback on the things they do well.
“From a sharing point of view, it was more with the support services and business model that was positive for both organisations.
“I think it’s definitely an idea that needs to be investigated and there could be positive upsides for all sporting groups . . . it falls in line with the Kiwi way.”
Taurua said she didn’t have a preference with what sporting code to align with netball, should the model go ahead.
“The key thing I want to put across is it has to be about a partnership so all sports keep their own identity. There are differences obviously between sports and everybody’s mana [needs to stay] intact — that’s really important,” she said.
Earlier this week, Australia’s Super Netball announced a new two-point shot zone to be introduced when the competition resumes on August 1.
The announcement drew outrage from some players who claimed they weren’t consulted over the rule change, while fans slammed the idea on social media.
Taurua said although she was
open to the game evolving, the twopoint shot should be left to the Fast5 game.
“I always know the two-point shot as being associated with the Fast5 game, so we’ve got a variation of our game already,” she said.
“The two-point shot aligns with that type of game, whereas we’ve got the more traditional which is what we’re playing at ANZ [Premiership] level and the international level.
● An excellent second half gave the Mainland Tactix a 45-36 victory over the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in the ANZ Premiership last night.
Down 22-19 at halftime, the Tactix held the Magic to a paltry 14 goals in the second half, giving them their second win of the season to move to a
2-2 record. The Magic are now 1-2.