Netball: Mixed feelings after another Ferns defeat

Casey Kopua and Caitlin Bassett compete for the ball. Photo / Getty Images

It is not often you would hear super-competitive Silver Ferns captain Casey Kopua enthusing about a nine-goal loss to Australia.

However, such is the dire position the Ferns are in at the moment they have to be satisfied with small victories. And after a 17-goal hammering at the hands of the Diamonds in the opening Constellation Cup test, last night's 49-40 loss in Melbourne felt like a major step forward for the New Zealand side.

But the Ferns will also walk away from the match with that niggling feeling that they could have done better. The New Zealand side had the Diamonds, who stretched their winning run over the Kiwis to seven last night, under real pressure at several stages during the topsy-turvy match, which Australian coach Lisa Alexander described as "a real chess game".

The most stirring period of play came early in the final spell when the Ferns, led by some brilliant defensive plays by Kopua, closed to within two goals of the Australians after opening the quarter with a 5-1 run.

Just as some were beginning to wonder if the Ferns could pull off the unthinkable, the New Zealand side folded with a couple of crucial errors in their attacking end opening the door for another storming Aussie finish. The disappointing finish to a game that otherwise provided a few much-needed positives for the Ferns left Kopua a little unsure about how to feel about it all.

"It was a bit of a win-lose thing - we showed that we can be competitive but then we let it blow out again, so that was really disappointing," she said.

"We got to within two goals and we can take confidence and belief from that because we can do it. We've definitely lifted from Invercargill and we need to just keep building from here."

Perhaps adding to the star defender's internal conflict was the satisfaction in knowing she had done her own job well, with the inspirational defender one of the best on court in last night's match. Kopua threw herself into everything in game two, coming up with nine deflections, two rebounds, two intercepts and around half a dozen more pick-ups, providing the lift her side needed following a pedestrian defensive effort in Invercargill.

Led by Kopua the Ferns defensive unit managed to restrict Australian sharpshooter Caitlin Bassett to just 33 from 41 attempts and generally make life uncomfortable for the 1.92m shooter, who curiously still picked up player of the match for her efforts.

Kopua said keeping the prolific shooter to 33 goals was a sign the whole team were doing their jobs on defence.

"For us I think it is about applying that continual pressure, she may get the ball but you contest that no matter what and always just trying to get in the heads of the feeders. It's not just about those one or two intercepts, rebounds or fumbles out the back are gains for us," said Kopua.

As well as the much stronger defensive effort, Ferns coach Waimarama Taumaunu was pleased to get a new shooting combination out on court, with Australian-born shooter Ameliaranne Wells making her debut in the black dress.

Despite having only a week and a half of training under her belt with the Ferns, Wells did an impressive job of slotting into the attack end, producing some deft touches with her feeding into Cathrine Latu and looking confident to go to the post.

But there were times when her limited time in the Ferns environment showed, with the connections with the midcourters looking a little rusty at times.

"I was pleased to get a new shooting line-up out there, we haven't had a lot of time with Amelia and she produced some really good stuff, but I think there is still work to be done with the feeding into her," said Taumaunu.

"The error-rate up until circle edge was not too bad but I was pretty disappointed in our feeding effort, particularly in the last 10 minutes."