Silver Ferns assistant coach Leigh Gibbs says player development has been ticked off and her side are looking for a polished netball performance against Jamaica today in the Tri-Series final.
After beating Jamaica 57-39 in Kingston on Monday, the Silver Ferns cruised as expected to a convincing 77-21 win over
Barbados yesterday.
In both matches the Silver Ferns used 11 of their 12 players, but with today's game their last international before next year's Commonwealth Games, Gibbs said the focus had changed slightly.
"One of the goals was to get as many players exposed to the Caribbean style and international netball ... We have achieved that to a point so we want to ensure that we have four strong quarters and the changes we make will be ones that we feel add to the game.
"I don't think we can ever get a perfect performance but we want a real top-quality performance."
In yesterday's match New Zealand led Barbados 22-3, 40-10 and 56-17 at the breaks.
Waikato defender Casey Williams made her Silver Ferns debut playing the first half at goal defence alongside Vilimaina Davu before switching for the remainder of the game to goal keep, where she teamed up with Leana de Bruin.
"Her combination with Vilimaina [Davu] was exciting. They clicked really well."
Gibbs said New Zealand's turnover rate was still a little high but was an improvement on their Jamaican game.
"What is very exciting about this group is that they are not going to settle for any old performance. They are motivated to play better."
The only player not to take the court at all yesterday was shooting ace Irene van Dyk.
And how did the world's most capped player find sitting on the bench? "She said she never realised how busy it was on the bench and how much work the doctor and physio do," Gibbs said. "So she has a new appreciation of that."
