Fresh start a blessing for poisoned Pulse

Robyn Broughton's celebrated career is shadowed by the Pulse's failure.

She was once New Zealand's most celebrated netball coach, but Robyn Broughton's tenure with the Central Pulse can, sadly, be remembered only as a failure.

Broughton's distinguished coaching career came to an unceremonious end in Adelaide on Sunday afternoon, when her side were downed 62-51 by the Thunderbirds to once again miss out on a place in the ANZ Championship play-offs.

Their modest record of three wins, two draws and eight losses saw the Pulse finish fourth in the New Zealand conference. If you were to combine the two conference ladders, the Pulse would be ninth in the league.

Considering the line-up of international talent in the Pulse - five Silver Ferns and one English star - you could make an argument that 2015 was the worst season yet for the Wellington-based side, who have had a string of forgettable seasons. And yet Broughton has largely escaped any scrutiny in her time with the Pulse. If netball is to properly find its place in the professional sporting landscape, this should not be the case.

The legendary coach has achieved some incredible feats in the sport - 10 straight National Bank Cup finals, seven titles, a lifetime membership of Netball NZ, to list but a few. There are also many top-name players who will single out Broughton as a huge factor in their careers, and that won't change. But her part in the Pulse's downfall cannot be ignored.

While it is Broughton's loyal players who have copped the blame for the Pulse's poor performances this year, the reality is the team did not have the game plan or the coaching support to be successful.

Compare the talk coming from the huddles in the time-outs and quarter-time breaks from the Pulse this season with any other team and you will note a stark difference in the clarity and detail of instructions being delivered. For the Pulse the message was always the same, essentially boiling down to "just don't throw the ball away". There was no recognition of what the opposition were doing to force the players into making errors and what adjustments could be made to counteract it.

The clinical, mistake-free brand of netball Broughton drilled into her sides may have set them apart in the old domestic league, but in a professional era that approach is just standard.

As the Pulse's season unravelled and frustrations set in, the team culture became toxic.

Unfair blame was placed on individuals, with veteran shooter Irene van Dyk, whose form went quickly downhill since she joined the franchise last season, becoming the scapegoat for poor performances. Once she was benched, the finger was pointed at the other shooters.

Others in the team looked to external reasons for their poor results, with physicality from the opposition and the umpiring becoming well-worn excuses.

Once everyone's second favourite team in the league, the Pulse's image has suffered major damage over the past few seasons because of the way the team have conducted themselves on and off the court.

That ugly tone set from the top came to a head last week when captain Katrina Grant was hauled in front of a disciplinary hearing to answer charges of misconduct after a heated confrontation with an umpire. It was the first time a player had faced disciplinary proceedings in eight seasons of the transtasman league.

Broughton will now depart the franchise leaving little more than a battered brand, with several veteran players like Liana Leota, Joline Henry and Jodi Brown expected to follow the popular coach out the door.

Fault for this also lies with the franchise's short-sighted administration, who did not ensure succession plans were put in place either on or off the court. They hired a veteran coach, who in turn brought in veteran players whose loyalties lay with the coach rather than the club.

But given the problems this season, starting from scratch may just be a blessing in disguise for the new incoming coach.