Netball: Kiwis too slow - to adjust

Former New Zealand netball captain Adine Wilson says something has to be done about the complete absence of wins in Australia by New Zealand franchises in the transtasman ANZ Championship.

The Magic play the Fever in Perth this afternoon in what might be the best chance to break an embarrassing duck for New Zealand's teams who have now gone winless in Australia for almost two seasons.

Wilson, like many others in the code, sees umpiring as the likely connection. While she stops short of saying that the Australian umpires referee differently and disadvantage New Zealand teams, she feels there is room for further inquiry.

"It seems strange after almost two years no New Zealand team has won over there," Wilson says. "There does need to be a look into why. It's quite important we start having wins over there. People want New Zealand teams to be competitive against the Australians and we have to do that on their soil."

"You can easily rule out travel and time difference. Every time we've been over our teams haven't been tired for the game," Wilson says. "You can take the mental stuff out too. Teams can beat Australian teams here in New Zealand, so it's not that we don't think we can't win against these Australian teams."

The Steel came agonisingly close last round, going down by two points in Brisbane against the Firebirds last Monday. It was the closest any Kiwi club has come to winning in Australia.

So what's stopping the Magic, Steel, Mystics, Pulse and Tactix from winning across the Tasman? Time difference, travel and mental toughness are reasons advanced but Wilson disagrees.

The one common suggestion by players and coaches is the difference in umpiring. Games played in Australia are officiated by Australian umpires, while New Zealand umpires oversee home games.

Games in Australia tend to be more physical as umpires let more go in a contest, but Dawn Jones, chair of the IFNA match official panel which looks after international umpires and bench officials, says the apparent difference is about playing styles, not umpiring decisions.

New Zealand teams play an aerial game with a zone defence while Australian teams prefer a one-on-one defence and drive onto the ball. That means, says Jones that the Kiwis' style leads to more collisions in the air while the Australian style leads to more obstruction on the ground.

"When you look at what happens on court, the umpires' decisions are not vastly different, but there are very different styles of play happening," Jones says. "The interpretations are not different, the rules are the same, but it comes back to the style of play you are brought up with. Certain styles of play cause different infringements."

Wilson says the main problem is that New Zealand teams have taken too long to make the adjustment to Australian umpiring. In an attempt to bridge this gap, some New Zealand teams have invited Australian umpires to training sessions - exactly what the Steel did last week while preparing for their clash in Brisbane.

"It was really good for us. She [the Australian umpire] gave lots of feedback, but it still didn't quite work for us," Wilson says.

"We tried not to react to any umpire's calls as if we're surprised by them and just tried to get on with our job. We know calls will be made slightly different than they are here ... that's why we made such a concerted effort to adjust the way we play in Australia."

Results compared to last year show Australian teams are also finding it harder to win in New Zealand. In 2008, (exempting the Pulse who have not won a game anywhere in two seasons), Australian teams won five out of 13 matches here. In 2009, again exempting the Pulse, Australian teams have won only two of their six matches in New Zealand.

There's little doubt where the match is played affects the result, although the Mystics have never won a game against an Australian team.

Despite calls for one New Zealand and one Australian umpire for the transtasman clashes Jones doesn't see any immediate changes to the umpiring roster, because of financial limitations. Wilson, however, wants more questions asked.

Depending on the final rounds, it's possible two New Zealand teams will feature in the 2009 finals series. The Magic cannot fall outside the top four, while the Steel have to win this weekend to remain a chance.

If one of those teams is to win the 2009 title, it could mean winning in Australia, a tough task if no one breaks the drought and the mental barrier before the finals start.

With two rounds remaining, the certainties for the finals series are the Magic, Vixens and Thunderbirds. The identity of the fourth team looks likely to go right down to the wire.

Three teams have chances to right the no-wins-in-Australia wrong - the Magic play the Fever this afternoon and then face the in-form Adelaide Thunderbirds next Sunday.

The Tactix have a tough ask against the Vixens tomorrow, while the Pulse will be unlikely heroes if they defeat the Vixens in Melbourne next week.

An unbroken duck
* New Zealand teams have played 21 games in Australia. Up until today, none have been won.
* So far this season, Australian sides in Australia have scored 510 points in nine games against NZ teams; the Kiwis have scored 406 points - an average score of 57-47.
* That compares to the 2008 season when, in the 13 games played in Australia, the Australian teams notched 680 points to New Zealand sides' 508 - an average score of 52-39 over the season.
* The closest score was Firebirds 52 Steel 50.
* The worst score was Thunderbirds 70 Pulse 40.
* By the end of this season, all New Zealand teams will have played 5 games in Australia over the two years.

RIVALRY ROUND
* This week there's even more reason for New Zealand teams to perform well in Australia, it's Rivalry Round.
* Every goal scored this round will count towards the tallies of Australia and New Zealand. The country with the most goals will win the inaugural Rivalry Round trophy.