Netball: Ferns' success a team effort, says coach

By RICHARD BOOCK

Yvonne Willering has rejected suggestions of a one-woman band after the Silver Ferns reduced Australia's world championship team to a rabble in the Tri-Nations netball test in Melbourne.

New Zealand confirmed their unofficial ranking as the world's No. 1 side when they overran the home team 55-40 on Saturday night to register their first test victory in Australia for 11 years, and their first back-to-back win over the Auld Enemy for 12.

Australia, who had lost only four of their previous 100 tests, went down to the Ferns, 40-52, at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, in November and were outclassed again at the Melbourne Netball Centre, losing the third quarter by a staggering eight goals as New Zealand poured on the pressure.

Described afterwards as the "Irene van Dyk Show" by some observers, the Ferns cruised to the win courtesy of an astonishing performance from their former South African goal-shoot, who dominated the game with 44 goals from 50 attempts.

Asked afterwards about the difference between the two sides, Australian coach Jill McIntosh and captain Kathryn Harby-Williams immediately nominated van Dyk.

Australia's Sunday newspapers - who relegated the result to the small print in the middle pages - tended to agree.

Ferns coach Willering, however, had no time for the claim, and said van Dyk was just one cog, "albeit a brilliant one," in the team Machinery, and was no more or less important than any other member of the side.

"It's interesting," she said after the win. "They certainly weren't calling Irene the difference between the two sides last year when they beat us, and I don't think anyone can say it this time either.

"This was a tremendous team effort. Everyone played well and kept to the plan, and we got the result we were looking for.

"Irene did shoot brilliantly. Once the ball's in her hands she's difficult to stop, but it takes a team effort to get to that stage, and that's what the players delivered."

Whatever the viewpoint, van Dyk was in superb form. From the third minute of the first quarter to midway through the third she did not miss once, scoring 29 in a row as New Zealand moved out to a match-deciding 38-24 lead.

Willering had a bob each way on the vexed position of goal-attack, playing Belinda Colling there in the first half and Donna Loffhagen in the second, and she opted for Linda Vagana at goal-keep instead of Vilimaina Davu.

Vagana was another star, teaming up with captain Bernice Mene and stalwart wing-defence Lesley Nicol to cause all sorts of problems for the Australian shooters, who ended up succeeding with just 67 per cent of their attempts, compared with New Zealand's overall 88 per cent.

Australia were still in the game at halftime, at which point they trailed 23-27, but a substitution from McIntosh appeared to backfire and they were crushed 7-15 in the third quarter, effectively ending their chances of a comeback.

Instead of addressing the woeful shooting, McIntosh elected to shuffle her defence, bringing on Bianca Chatfield at goal-keep, moving Liz Ellis to goal-defence and promoting Harby-Williams up the court to wing-defence.

The changes proved an unmitigated disaster for the hosts. It was not until McIntosh replaced her shooters with Eloise Southby and Jacqui Delaney that a complete embarrassment was averted.

Willering said it was especially pleasing to follow up the win in South Africa with another consistent performance at Melbourne, but she was reluctant to read too much into the result.

"No 1? Well, that's a question for world championship time," she said.

"But I know for a fact that the players were fired up when the PA announcer reminded them that Australia were the world champions."

New Zealand play South Africa in Canberra tomorrow night.