Netball: Silver Ferns looking for perfect finish

By Suzanne McFadden

The Silver Ferns have to beat Australia tonight - or it would be a bitter end to a perfect week for New Zealand netball.

Tonight the Ferns will play before their biggest audience ever - 7000 parochial Canterbury fans in the new Christchurch stadium, making it the largest indoor crowd for a sports event in New Zealand.

This week Netball New Zealand shared their news of an unexpected $144,000 profit - they thought they might get $6000.

Last night, they celebrated 75 years of netball with a ritzy dinner and applauded a Silver Ferns "dream team."
Unfortunately, none of the young stars in the latest side made the starting seven.

But maybe they would if they beat the world champions tonight. You won't have seen a more confident Silver Ferns team for at least five years, maybe more.

They are hyped up by their recent history - almost beating the Australians at the Commonwealth Games five months ago, and slam-dunking the Jamaicans (albeit after a draw) in the smothering atmosphere of the Caribbean this month.

So there is a huge expectation out there that the Ferns should win, egged on by the Australians dramatically down-playing their chances. They have lost four great players, they say, they are playing away from home and they haven't played a test since the games.

But the Australians are like sharks in calm seas. You can't afford to take your eyes off the horizon.

They still have a formidable team, despite a couple of retirements. For this season, at least, they still have an absolute matchwinner in Vicki Wilson.

Yvonne Willering cannot fathom it, why there are expectations on the Silver Ferns that have never existed before in her term as coach.

Since 1995, the talk has been about how many goals New Zealand could get within Australia's tally, how wide the gap across the Tasman would be.

There is no reason New Zealand can't win this test. The Ferns have been together as a pretty stable unit for two seasons now. There are no new caps for this

Fisher and Paykel Cup match and, aside from Jenny-May Coffin's improving shoulder injury, they are worry-free.
Besides, everyone in the lower half of Down Under is sick of the Australians' 10-test winning streak over the Kiwis.

It's time for a change to restore everyone's faith in the game.

A loss would be dispiriting for the Ferns, but not soul-destroying. They will have plenty of time and plenty of other world-class opposition to help pick themselves up before the great rematch at the world championships at the same venue in September.