KEY POINTS:
If Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic coach Noeline Taurua opts to tinker with her line-up once more for Monday's grand final against the NSW Swifts, it will be for very good reason.
"I'm a wee bit mad," she laughs.
The Magic coach has reinvented her team's attacking line to
such an extent it remains a mystery which combination will take the court against the Swifts in Sydney.
Netball observers were left scratching their heads when the laid-back coach swapped around her shooters a few weeks ago, starting Irene van Dyk in the unfamiliar role of goal-attack and Maria Tutaia at goal-shoot.
If that move had punters confused, they would have been well and truly aghast when they cast their eye on Taurua's starting line-up for last week's preliminary final against the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
The experienced Magic coach chose to start captain and regular wing-attack Amigene Metcalfe at centre, and move Silver Fern star Laura Langman in to wing-attack, a position she had never played in before.
But as hairbrained as her ideas may seem at first, you have to hand it to Taurua _ she has a knack of making unlikely positional switches work.
Van Dyk's impact at goal-attack has been well-documented, while last week's midcourt change worked to open up the Magic attack end, with Langman's strong movement and pace allowing more flow around the shooting circle.
Quick to play down any suggestions of coaching genius, Taurua said the tweaks to her attacking end were a simple matter of matching a player's strengths to areas where her side were lacking.
"There's a method to the madness, I promise you. It's just a matter of having a look and seeing what is the best thing for the team at that time," she said.
"For me, we were still being exposed in certain areas at certain times. But what I try to do is look at the positives of somebody instead of looking at the negatives and trying to change them as such. Because if you do that, you can often take away the things that they do well."
It may seem an obvious philosophy, but it's not always easy to stick to when it means moving players out of position, particularly in the heat of a sudden-death match.
Taurua admits to being slightly nervous about making the adjustment, but in the end went with her gut instinct.
"Before I made the change I thought `oh god, I can hear everybody now', but what I saw out there was what I expected to happen."
This sort of added scrutiny is just one of the factors that has made the new transtasman league the biggest challenge of Taurua's coaching career.
Lining up against top competition week after week has kept the Rotorua-based coach on her toes and she believes she has learnt more in one season of the ANZ Championship than she did in her five seasons coaching in the previous domestic league.
But it has been especially draining on Taurua. She gave birth to her fifth child three weeks ago.
"For me I think the last few weeks, especially going in to the semifinals plus also having baby, has been quite huge, I'm pretty much running on adrenalin."
But it is part of this family-inclusive atmosphere of the Magic that have made the Waikato side so successful this year.
The Magic have three mothers in their playing squad _ Irene van Dyk, Amigene Metcalfe and Jodi Tod _ and it is Taurua's flexible nature that has helped recruit and retain this player talent.
She's had plenty of support from others to help mould the Waikato side into grand final challengers, including netball legend Lois Muir. The former Silver Ferns coach has been a long-time mentor.
"Me and Lois, we go back a long way ... she used to coach me way back in the years gone by," Taurua said.
"I know she keeps a watchful eye on me and she always wants to give me her opinion on things, which I always take. She's always taught me to go with my gut."
Advice Taurua is sure to use for the final.
