Netball: Te Huna and Scarlett make bids for Silver Ferns future

1.00pm

Development of youngsters Jodi Te Huna and Anna Scarlett should be the long-term gain from New Zealand's three-test netball tour of Australia, despite the series loss.

The series went down to the wire in Melbourne on Saturday night, with Australia clinching the match 53-51, after clawing back a three-goal deficit with about five minutes to play.

Australia won the first test 54-49 in Sydney, while the Silver Ferns hit back with a 50-42 victory in Perth.

They should have won in Melbourne, but lost some crucial turnovers as Australia, always determinedly difficult to beat at home, stepped up the pressure in the last few minutes.

The shining point of the tour was the rise of Te Huna and Scarlett, who gave their all in the series, with Te Huna in particular signalling she wanted the goal attack bib on a long-term basis.

Caretaker captain Lesley Nicol noted their progress when she spoke after the match.

"Jodi had a really good series, she stepped into the role of goal attack and you could see her giving some great feint passes just as Belinda Colling has done in the past.

"I think Anna Scarlett came on strongly, so it is looking really well heading into the Commonwealth Games (in 2006) and the next world championships (in 2007)."

Te Huna, with six caps to her credit before the tour, came on during the third quarter in Sydney and played the entire matches in Perth and Melbourne.

She shot 41 goals from 55 attempts during the series, proving an able backup to ace shooter Irene van Dyk, but linking effectively with her and the midcourt attack. Her flair in bamboozling the Australian defence with instinctive moves stood out as the series progressed.

She may have to deal with the return of Belinda Colling and Donna Loffhagen next year, but her performances on this tour indicate she has a major role to play in the future of the national side.

Scarlett had game time in all three matches, and started the Perth game in tandem with Joline Henry, a move which surprised the Australians who then had to deal with the more experienced pair of Vilimaina Davu and Sheryl Scanlan later in the match.

Coach Ruth Aitken also had enough faith in Scarlett to prefer her to Davu in the final quarter in Melbourne, a signal to her future prospects in the Silver Ferns.

It's a matter of conjecture how much Aitken's desire to give the younger players in the team court-time during the series had on the 2-1 series loss, but if ever there was a tour to do it, it was this one.

Indeed, Aitken would have probably preferred to give Henry, Victoria Edward, Angela Mitchell and Amigene Metcalfe more court time than they got in the tests.

The Silver Ferns' main aim is to win the majors -- the Commonwealth Games and the world championships -- and while their own expectation and that of the public's is that no loss to Australia is permissible, they can take heart that this tour has created extra depth in their squad.

The downside is that Australia did exactly the same thing, developing youngsters such as Jesicca Shynn, Natasha Chokljat and Bianca Chatfield, and finished the series on a victorious note. Even though New Zealand had a 4-2 record against them this year, the Melbourne victory will boost the sagging confidence of the Australians to its usual high level.

You only had to listen to Australian captain Liz Ellis after the match.

"We were used to, as Australians, winning the close ones. We forgot for a while, but I think we've remembered how to win and how to bring it home," she said.

Nicol indicated after the match her keenness to play on, after notching her 109th cap at the weekend. She said she was happy to return to a senior role in the team when regular captain Anna Rowberry recovers from her shoulder injury.

Former Kiwi Catherine Cox was named player of the series for her superb shooting efforts, but there was little doubt that Silver Ferns mainstay Irene van Dyk remained the best sharpshooter around. She only missed 14 times from 118 attempts during the series, while Cox dipped out 24 times from 125 attempts.

- NZPA