Netball: Four things needed from Ferns ahead of World Cup

Casey Kopua and the Silver Ferns have been outclassed by Australia. Photo / Getty Images

The Silver Ferns have significant ground to make up on Australia in the next 10 months before the World Cup in Sydney. Dana Johannsen looks at four things that need to happen before August 2015:

1. Regaining confidence in the England series

England are a good side. They should have beaten Australia and New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games but blew their opportunities, losing to both by just one goal and missing out on a medal.

The English will be out to prove a point when they tour here this month but the Silver Ferns can't let them. Losing to England could have a profound effect on the New Zealand side's confidence. As well as continuing to develop new combinations over the two tests, Casey Kopua's side needs to win and win well.

2. Returning players to hit top form quickly

The Silver Ferns are without star shooter Maria Tutaia for the rest of the year as she recovers from a foot injury that hampered her Commonwealth Games campaign. It's hoped she can regain her form and match fitness quickly when she returns because they will need the sharp-shooter firing in Sydney next year.

Tutaia will be highly motivated to return strongly. This is the first time she has missed a series through injury and won't have enjoyed the experience. If that's not motivation enough, she has seen the emergence of a new contender for the starting goal attack spot in Ameliaranne Wells.

The Silver Ferns will also be hoping rookie Kayla Cullen, who has been sidelined for more than a year after suffering a serious knee injury, will return with vigour in the transtasman league next season to increase the selection pressure in the midcourt.

3. No rest for the wicked

The summer conditioning window looms as arguably the most important period for the Ferns squad in their build-up to Sydney.

There were several athletes in Glasgow who were underprepared for the demands of tournament play. There can't be any passengers at next year's World Cup. The 2015 event will feature a new and more demanding format which will see teams play eight games in 10 days. The two-pool structure will also make for tougher round robin match-ups, with New Zealand expected to meet Australia in the opening game of the tournament.

The Ferns will need to ramp up their fitness and conditioning regimes several notches over the summer break to cope with the workload at the tournament.

4. Strike the right balance in managing the players' workloads

The first half of next year will be extremely busy for the Silver Ferns, moving straight from squad camps at the beginning of the year to their build-up with their franchise sides before the transtasman league gets under way at the end of February.

Between the end of the ANZ Championship in late June and the World Cup starting on August 7, it's expected the Ferns will play a couple of internationals, with Netball NZ looking to take advantage of our proximity to Sydney and organise for a visiting team to head here first. These matches won't be against any top-four sides - it's more likely to be a team like South Africa or Malawi.

With such a packed schedule next season, player workloads will need to be monitored leading up to the World Cup to ensure the team aren't fatigued before the tournament event starts.