Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua has backed the decision to reduce quarter times in the ANZ Premiership, despite claims it went against her fitness-first philosophy.
The competition, which resumes tonight in Auckland, will be played with four 12-minute rather than 15-minute quarters.
Player workloads and welfare has been citedas the reason, due to the condensed nature of the competition.
Former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering spoke out about the rule change earlier this week, voicing concern over the potential repercussions on upcoming Silver Fern campaigns and questioning the reasoning behind the decision.
Taurua, however, who was part of the decision making-process alongside the ANZ Premiership coaches and performance staff, believed it was the best approach, saying the positives of shorter games outweighed the negatives.
"It is always a big deal because you are playing less time but we were open to have that trade-off knowing that we needed to manage that return to play," Taurua said. "Even though it has gone to 12 minutes, it shouldn't be detrimental to the physical side of the athletes and what we want to ensure is that we have quality netball out there so if they can do that in 12 minutes I'll be happy and it shouldn't really impact any other areas of the individual game.
"At this stage, it's more of a precautionary measure to make sure that we minimise injury and take care of the welfare."
The ANZ Premiership resumes tonight. Photo / Photosport
Taurua did, however, suggest the reduced game time be reviewed following the first few weeks of competition.
"We're very cautious of the first three weeks to prevent injury, so whether those 12 minute quarters remain for the full 10 rounds, it may change," she said.
"It's a starting point and it was about trying to get everything together when we were in lockdown not knowing what the future held for us.
"I know that people will be open to make changes if necessary."
Taurua will attend all games played in the first six weeks at the Auckland Netball Centre before the competition returns to a home and away format.
Silver Ferns selections will be at the forefront of her mind with an October series all but set and the Constellation Cup still on the cards for late November.
Taurua said there were a range of things she'd be looking out for.
"First and foremost there's still that physical side, that fitness standard that still remains so that's probably the very first thing," she said. "But the other things that we're looking for out on court is leadership, we're looking for athlete habits, the skillset, the physical capabilities of individuals. Individuals are also needing to fit within the team strategy.
"I know there's a bit of apprehension amongst everybody, everyone is excited to get out there and I'm in the same boat."
