Netball: Ferns on top but work to do yet

By JULIE ASH in Invercargill

Expect the Silver Ferns to come out even stronger when they take on Barbados in the second test tonight in Wellington.

Although coach Ruth Aitken could not complain about her side's 88-27 win over the Caribbean side in Invercargill on Saturday, the match showed the Ferns have plenty to work on before the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in less than a month.

Barbados' goals were so few that the normally vocal Southland crowd seemed happier to applaud them than the skills of their own team.

"I thought there were some lovely pieces of play but not enough for a coach to be entirely happy with," Aitken said.

"Barbados will have taken a step up by Monday. They just got off the plane a few days ago, so it has been a huge adjustment.

"But we are looking to set our own goals and make sure we don't just use the height advantage that we have got."

The match provided Aitken with the chance to try new combinations, and although some worked, others showed that a little more time together was needed.

Two players who impressed for New Zealand were goal defence Sheryl Clarke, who threw beautiful passes from the mid court into the shooters, and wing attack Anna Rowberry, who proved that she has worked on controlling the tempo of her game.

"There were elements of excitement in all areas. We now have to look to build on that and make sure we secure that ball and get it through the court," Aitken said.

"I thought a few of the quarters weren't as powerful as I would have liked. We got a lot of ball, but I thought some of our conversion of it through court wasn't executed properly."

The cool, calm Daneka Wipiiti made her Silver Ferns debut in the second half, replacing Irene van Dyk. The 19-year-old North Harbour player landed 26 of her 39 attempts.

"It was a bit nerve-racking," Wipiiti said, "but the girls have been really good in training, supporting me so I went on there with a little bit of confidence."

For Barbados - without 1.93m defender Laurel Browne, who may be out of the series after tearing a muscle in her back - it is back to the drawing board.

"We are a bit disappointed we didn't make it more of a contest," said Barbados coach Harriet Waithe.

"New Zealand really moved the ball well and used their height advantage and they were very accurate."

Having watched her team play Australia early this year, Waithe said it was hard to pick the better side a month out from the Commonwealth Games.

"Both move the ball very well and I would hate to call it.

"I think we are playing better now than when we played Australia and I thought we had a better game against Australia than New Zealand so it may be possible that New Zealand is the stronger team."