Netball: Surprises unlikely in Games squad

By JULIE ASH

Expect no surprises when the New Zealand side for the Commonwealth Games is named today.

The 12-strong squad who crushed Barbados in the three-test series which ended on Wednesday night should be unchanged when the New Zealand Olympic Committee reveals the names this morning.

The New Zealand A team, who include rejected Silver Ferns Tania Dalton, Angela Evans, Adine Harper, Temepara Clark, Victoria Edward and Lorna Suafoa, start their three-game series against Barbados tonight in Palmerston North.

So for New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken and her selectors it is a matter of weighing up whether the players in the New Zealand A team can offer more than those in the Silver Ferns.

"We have to take into consideration [that] there are some really good people in the New Zealand A team as well," said Aitken.

"We'll just go back to the drawing board and make sure we've made the right decisions."

Although the Silver Ferns crushed the Carribean side 88-27, 87-35 and 84-22, the series proved that a lot of areas need sharpening up before the Games.

Misdirected passes and shots, which were not punished by Barbados, would inevitably result in points on the board for the likes of Australia and Jamaica.

Aitken used all her players in the Barbados series but said she was a long way off naming her strongest seven.

"I have felt there has been some real progress made. People have really put their hearts on the line. It is really important that we have got that variety so that if anything happens people can come in and have confidence with each other, and that is starting to develop."

Barbados coach Harriet Waithe named recalled midcourter Anna Rowberry and rising shooter Daneka Wipiiti as the danger players in the Silver Ferns line-up.

"Anna just uses the correct movement at the right time. She's a very good player," Waithe said. "It's not only her speed of foot but the quickness of the release of pass.

"She's well aware of where she should be and what pass needs to be made at what time.

"I think with the youngster [Wipiiti] ... She has given us the most trouble in trying to shut down."

The Silver Ferns reassemble next week for matches against the New Zealand A team. They leave for Manchester on July 19.