Netball: Team with firepower to burn

By DAVID LEGGAT

You can't fault Noeline Taurua's honesty in her assessment of how the Magic should perform in this year's National Bank Cup.

Strength right through the court, with South African accents at either end in imports Leana du Plooy and Irene van Dyk, mid-court class in Jenny May Coffin, national squad members Joline Henry and Amigene Metcalfe backed up by Academy and national under-21 squad players, lead Taurua to one inescapable conclusion: the Magic should make the final.

"On paper we are strong, and if I didn't think that I'd probably need a bullet," she quipped.

The Waikato-Bay of Plenty franchise have reached the semifinals just once, in 2001. Last year, under Taurua, they finished seventh, a fact the classy former Silver Ferns midcourt player does not need reminding of.

Yet she is well-aware that successful teams are made of the sum of their parts, rather than high-calibre individual componentry.

Take the pre-season quadrangular tournament the Magic hosted this month in Te Awamutu. They beat the Diamonds by 10, the Western Flyers by nine but lost to Lois Muir's Rebels 49-47.

"That was our first game together and there was some beaut individual performances but as a team, boy ... " she said.

"One of the challenges I've got is to get that cohesion; to get them working as a team."

While du Plooy will bolster the defence - and with Henry should form one of the stronger back pairings in the league - much of the focus will be on the work of van Dyk at the other end.

As Taurua put it, "We know she can shoot", but there is more to it than simply lobbing the ball forward to the 1.9m Silver Ferns star.

Taurua expects goal attacks Rachel Donnelly and Renee Jacobsen to play significant roles. Van Dyk is a sitting target to be double-teamed by opposing defences.

Shut off the shooting opportunities and you lessen the damage she can inflict.

That policy would open up gaps for the Magic's other shooters. So Taurua wants them to accept the responsibility of taking more shots.

Responsibility is a key word in the Magic's attitude this season, to the extent that Taurua has not named a captain. The approach is more one of shared leadership.

There are several experienced campaigners, they know what is expected and Taurua wants a unified approach to calling the shots.

Her Silver Ferns career of about 40 internationals ended when a damaged knee early in 1999 put paid to her world championship hopes.

She finally stepped off the court after the 2000 national championships, when she was playing for Waikato, became Magic coach Ruth Aitken's assistant the following year, then moved up when Aitken won the Silver Ferns job last year.

Taurua makes no bones about her ambition for the cup: "With the firepower we've got we should be in the top two. That's my aim as coach."

The Silver Ferns squad for the world championships will be named after the Easter trials, by which time five rounds will have been completed.

Taurua knows players may be distracted by the thought of the trip to Jamaica in July, but her philosophy is that strong form for the Magic should lead to at least a place at the camp on the North Shore over Easter, if not a flight to the Caribbean.

"Realistically, that's where the players should be looking, and if they don't perform for the Magic it will make it harder for them at the trials.

"I know that they know the New Zealand selectors will be out there, and if they do the job with the Magic everything else comes into play."

There is a degree of self-deprecation about the 35-year-old Taurua, mixed with drive. She knows what she wants from her players and herself.

"You know, if we're not in the top two with the squad I've got, I'm not going to be there next year. I'll just go home and have a cup of tea."