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Home / Sport / Netball

<i>Joan Hodson:</i> Cloud hangs over this silver lining

10 Jul, 2003 11:12 AM5 mins to read

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About now the Silver Ferns will be itching to get into action at the world championships.

It's a feeling I remember from my two trips to the worlds as a player.

You must obviously do the right amount of preparation, but there comes a time when you simply want to get
into it.

This is the time netball fans will be asking questions.

Are the Silver Ferns good enough to win the title?

Have they got the right players there?

How will they handle the conditions in Kingston?

I think the Silver Ferns are capable of winning; whether they do is an entirely different matter.

I have some major concerns with the make-up of the 12-strong squad.

Let's split the court into three, starting with the middle.

The midcourt options look good to me.

When you are thinking of ways to improve a team you ask: Who is not there I would have picked? For me, no real issues here.

The mix of captain Anna Rowberry, Temepara Clark, Lesley Nicol and Adine Harper has class.

The unluckiest player to miss out here is Jenny May Coffin, who was overlooked for Harper's versatility.

Where I am uneasy is at the two ends of the court.

Defensively, Ruth Aitken and Leigh Gibbs have one wing defence - Nicol - and four circle players, Vilimaina Davu, Sheryl Clarke, Anna Scarlett and Leana du Plooy.

If anything happens to the experienced and classy Nicol we've got problems.

I know Clarke has played wing defence before, but her best position is in the circle. If you move her out you risk weakening your defence under the hoop.

Also, it's all very well putting someone in a different position in training. It's a vastly different matter asking them to step up against a Jamaica or Australia when they are not battle-hardened in that role.

I would have taken Victoria Edward instead of du Plooy, specifically as cover for Nicol. It's a specialist role which requires quality back-up.

In the attacking third, my concerns revolve around Belinda Colling.

We've got three goal shooters in Irene van Dyk, Tania Dalton and Jodi Te Huna. They are all happier with GS on their bibs than GA.

The only specialist goal attack is Colling.

Dalton was tried there in the third test against England, when the Silver Ferns scratched out a disappointing 48-41 win.

To be fair that was far from entirely down to that positional move, but again my Nicol theory applies: if Colling is injured, look out.

To me, the strongest seven stands out like a beacon: Van Dyk, Colling, Rowberry, Clark, Nicol, Clarke and Davu.

It will be fascinating to see how Aitken and Gibbs approach the first three games, that is the two teams who advance out of the qualifying rounds and the Cook Islands.

New Zealand will win all three in a doddle.

But they will shed light on two key aspects - how the coaches are approaching the issue of player rotation and whether we hear about the quality of performance being more important than the scoreline.

I believe they must start with their strongest lineup.

To do less is to demean your opponents. That's not on in my book.

But they must make sure when it comes down to the business end of the championship that the squad have all had some meaningful time on court.

Getting the balance right is all important.

My two world championship coaches, Lois Muir in 1987 and Lyn Gunson four years later, took slightly different approaches on this one.

With Lois, she had her seven and that was that.

My only court time came when Sandra Edge or Rita Fatialofa needed a rest.

In 1991, you didn't really know if you were in the top seven or not.

I had no real inkling I would be in the team for the final until shortly beforehand.

In these opening games I'll be looking at the quality of the Silver Ferns' play. You often hear two schools of thought on what is more important: quality of performance or winning well.

To me, one leads onto the other.

If the standard of your game is high, invariably you will win well.

I am expecting very big margins in these early games and I want to see the Silver Ferns showing convincing form, displaying quality in everything they do.

We need to send a message right from the start, and that is: We mean business, this is what we're here to do and we're going to have fun doing it.

What I don't want to see is what I call "brat pack" behaviour.

That is, throwing the arms about, moaning or visibly disagreeing with umpiring decisions.

Apart from the fact it does you or your team no good, once the call has been made it suggests you are not fully focused on the job at hand.

We New Zealanders tend to wear our hearts on our sleeves a bit on this one.

The Australians just get straight back into it.

There was too much of that precious stuff in the National Bank Cup for my liking.

This is where the coaches must play a decisive role.

You need an edge to your performance, but must be pointed in the right direction.

Two days out from their first centre pass, I know from past experience the players will be just about ready to explode.

Me? I can't wait.

* Joan Hodson is a former Silver Fern and international umpire, and is coach of the Auckland Diamonds.

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