Netball: Tutaia and Van Dyk respond in style

Silver Ferns, from left, Maria Tutaia, Irene Van Dyk and Temepara George cheer on their teammates against Australia. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Netball isn't known for its sledging, but some juicy verbal exchanges between players hold a place in netballing folklore.

One such tale involves Silver Fern Maria Tutaia and her long-time Australian rival Mo'onia Gerrard.

The story goes, after slotting one of her trademark long-range goals, Tutaia quipped to Gerrard, who ran a tanning salon at the time - "it's all in the application".

Who knows if the story is really true - over time tales from the heat of battle become part fact, part urban myth.

But hidden in Tutaia's jibe were some sage words of advice that would haunt her this week. The talented young shooter has come under pressure this season after a couple of lacklustre performances for the Ferns. That pressure intensified this week following New Zealand's 48-43 loss to Australia in the opening test in Adelaide, with Tutaia and shooting partner Irene van Dyk copping much of the blame for the Ferns' disappointing showing.

But the pair responded in emphatic style on Thursday night, leading from the front in the Ferns stylish 59-40 win. Tutaia was especially dominant, finding more space around the circle with her decisive movement and strong drives.

Her volume was also impressive, putting up 32 shots at goal, of which 24 were successful. Former Silver Fern Belinda Colling, who worked with the Kiwi shooters in the lead-up to Thursday's second test, said part of the problem in Adelaide was a lack of movement around the shooting circle.

She said Tutaia wasn't "applying herself" and needed to commit to doing the hard work.

"Maria knew what she had to do and it's about application and understanding that just standing there and floating about isn't going to come off against Aussie."

"We didn't make life easy for her this week, we offered some harsh criticism and asked a lot of her.

"But she took it all on board when she could have gone and sat in the corner and sulked."

Tutaia's breakthrough performance in Wellington could not have been more perfectly timed after being slated by Gerrard on the eve of the second test. The veteran Australian defender claimed her opponent should have been "dishing out more than she has been" after being in the Ferns starting line-up for several years.

But Tutaia, who was not aware of Gerrard's comments, said her main motivation was to prove to herself and her team-mates she was capable of more.

"I totally didn't want to feel like I did on Sunday night in Adelaide so I thought right, 'don't dwell on it, just move on'."