Dana Johannsen: Aitken has plenty of work to do

Ruth Aitken. Photo / Getty Images

Heading into last week's test series against a severely under-strength Jamaican side, there was little chance of the Silver Ferns getting an accurate gauge of where they sat in relation to the Sunshine Girls.

Instead, the New Zealand coaching staff focused firmly on developing at least two world-class options in each position - something they believe will be key to the team's success at the Commonwealth Games.

Despite coming away with two comfortable victories against Jamaica, it is clear the Ferns have a lot of work to do in this area before the team heads to Dehli. New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken took some satisfaction in her side's improvement from the opening test in Christchurch to their second outing in Napier on Saturday.

While the scoreline was virtually identical in both tests, the Ferns produced a much more polished performance in Napier, particularly the first 30 minutes in which they managed to combine pace and flair on attack without sacrificing precision and accuracy.

But heading in to their next challenge - a three-test series against a supremely confident Australia side - Aitken highlighted the need for her team to take another big step up right across the board.

The Ferns' performances against Jamaica have done little to shake those nagging doubts over the New Zealand's depth compared with that of their transtasman rivals.

The Jamaicans were similarly embarrassed by Australia and New Zealand, losing by 21, 27 and 31-goals in Australia, and 23 and 22-goals against the Silver Ferns.

Jamaican coach Connie Francis believes the Australians are a much more solid outfit than the Kiwis.

Francis noted that Australia, who fielded 15 players over the three-test series, were able to make a string of changes, with each successive line-up being just as strong as the first. But she said when the Ferns made changes, there appeared to be vast gaps in skill and experience between the first-string line-up and some of their replacement players.

Australian coach Norma Plummer is expected to continue to flaunt the depth in her side in the upcoming series, beginning in Adelaide on Sunday.

Following the opening test Plummer will make her final cut for the Commonwealth Games, reducing her squad from 15 to 12 ahead of the last two tests in New Zealand.

Whoever makes the final grade, the Diamonds have the luxury of being able to run their team 12-deep, whereas there is a big drop-off in the Ferns after their top nine.

This is not a new development.

Australia have always had greater depth than their Kiwi counterparts, which has been further underlined since the advent of the transtasman league.

But heading in to the Commonwealth Games, in which the gruelling tournament play can often become a case of survival of the fittest, New Zealand need to have confidence in their full squad.

The likes of Liana Barrett-Chase, Grace Rasmussen, Daneka Wipiiti and Anna Scarlett all showed a great deal of promise against Jamaica. They will have to deliver on that promise in the coming weeks to ensure the Ferns coaching staff can tick off their objectives by the time they board that plane to Dehli.