Netball: New competition will take a year to settle, says Muir

Legendary former Silver Ferns coach Lois Muir. Photo / Supplied

Legendary former Silver Ferns coach Lois Muir predicts that the ANZ Championship could be well into next season's competition before the standard of netball improves significantly.

The opening round of the new transtasman competition did not produce the slick, high-tempo netball that was expected from the elite league.

Muir says the high turnover counts and less-than-inspirational play in the opening round were an inevitable consequence of a competition that combines two nations with differing styles.

"It's the two styles meeting and the players getting used to them. I personally think it will take a year and a bit for the standard to be raised.

"Some of the young players out there who have never played the Australians, they'll grow tremendously from this."

With each of the franchises keeping their tactical and selectorial cards close to their chest in the pre-season matches, each team's strategies are now in the public eye.

The teams now have more knowledge of each other, and with proper video footage available, there will be more scouting of the opposition before matches.

But Muir believes it will take some time before the New Zealand players develop their own strategies for dealing with the Australian style.

She said the tight man-on style of defence and short, fast passing game can be particularly tough for players to get their head around.

"You can't teach the things that are lacking in a week. But the players will get harder and more astute _ and they've got to be fit," she said.

"We're going to have a hardening up of people, and they will learn, otherwise they won't be out on court." Muir thinks netball is heading in the right direction with the advent of the new league.

Providing a more challenging, competitive level of netball had captured the public's attention.

Across the Tasman, the Australian franchises are basking in the glow of the opening weekend.

Although the matches were played in stadiums less than three-quarters full, crowd numbers and media coverage were well up on what the franchises experienced last year in their previous domestic competition.

"I think it's really starting to take hold. People are talking about it, and the opportunity is there to see good netball," Muir said.

Viewership numbers released by AGB Nielsen media research show the games in the opening rounds attracted an average audience of around 29,000. This compares to about 88,000 for the opening round of the Super 14 two months ago.

While the numbers are not overly impressive, Muir said with live coverage of all matches the game will be exposed to bigger audiences and the interest in the competition could only grow.

"Here I am, I'm looking at two Australian teams playing, which I used to do occasionally but now I'm a lot more interested."

HOOKING FANS
Pulse v Vixens, Wellington:
crowd 2500, viewership 47,700

Firebirds v Fever, Brisbane:
crowd 2131, viewership 21,400

Mystics v Flames, Auckland:
crowd 3156, viewership 22,500

Magic v Thunderbirds, Rotorua:
crowd 2000, viewership 24,600

Swifts v Steel, Sydney:
crowd 2131, viewership 25,500

* Viewership figures provided by AGB Nielsen Media Research