Maddy Gordon’s versatility poses a dilemma for the Silver Ferns’ coaching team, who need to choose her best position.
Gordon excelled in the Constellation Cup, making a significantly impact when playing in the wing attack bib.
The Silver Ferns must decide between Gordon at wing attack or centre, with Kate Heffernan as a potential centre.
Maddy Gordon has put the Silver Ferns coaching team in a bit of a quandary –because right now, she’s probably New Zealand’s best player in two positions.
With two pinnacle events on the horizon, they will have to decidewhether she is more critical at centre or the more technical position of wing attack.
The Diamonds won the first two tests by 17 goals across the ditch before the Ferns took test three in Hamilton by nine goals and the fourth test 62-57, on the back of another big second-half performance.
Maddy Gordon excelled at wing attack during the Constellation Cup, boosting the Silver Ferns' performance. Photo / Getty Images
In the third test, Gordon switched to wing attack just before halftime and made a huge difference by providing punch and clarity in the attacking third.
In the final test, she moved to wing attack at halftime and did the same thing, feeding the ball beautifully into shooter Grace Nweke.
Gordon, who had two Suncorp Super Netball teams chasing her signature, will play for the Queensland Firebirds next year and they will be rubbing their hands with glee after watching this series.
Gordon would have to be the most complete midcourter in world netball.
The 25-year-old is also an excellent wing defence, stepping into that position during the series against South Africa, when Kate Heffernan was under the weather.
The question of who is the Silver Ferns’ starting wing attack has not gone away since veteran Gina Crampton stepped away from international netball at the end of the 2023 Netball World Cup.
Since then, the Silver Ferns have experimented with six different players in that position, including Whitney Souness.
During last year’s international window, Claire O’Brien had her moments before Kimiora Poi did a fine job at wing attack during the 2024 Constellation Cup.
But Poi only got a few minutes at wing attack during the first two tests of the recent series.
There was a lot of anticipation around Peta Toeava’s Silver Ferns recall but she only got a few minutes at wing attack in the first two tests before dropping out of the game-day 12.
Mila Reuelu-Buchanan got the nod to start at wing attack by interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie for all four tests, but Gordon made a marked improvement to the attacking end when she switched into that position.
Maddy Gordon joins the Queensland Firebirds for the 2025 season. Photo / Getty Images
Gordon’s history with the wing attack bib goes back to 2020 when she stepped into the position she wasn’t familiar with for the Pulse. It led to her first Silver Ferns call-up.
The somewhat frustrating thing about Gordon is that she could have cemented herself into the Silver Ferns earlier, but oddly missed out on a spot for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Instead, the selectors went with Whitney Souness, who traditionally played wing attack but was thought to have all the attributes to make a great centre.
The Souness experiment didn’t last long and by the 2023 Netball World Cup, Kate Heffernan was seen as the best option at centre.
Gordon made the World Cup team but got limited court time.
But after the World Cup, Gordon has established herself as the Silver Ferns’ starting centre and is the full package on both attack and defence.
But on recent evidence, the Silver Ferns might need her more at wing attack.
The question that leaves is who then steps into centre. Kate Heffernan seems like the best option.
Heffernan, who started each test at wing defence, has great vision into the circle and combined seamlessly with Gordon at wing attack.
The shuffling of positions causes a domino effect but with Catherine Hall being such a revelation at goal defence during the series, there are more defensive options in-circle to allow Karin Burger to slide to wing attack.
