By JULIE ASH
Successful Southern Sting coach Robyn Broughton has joined Auckland Diamonds coach Joan Hodson and voiced her concerns after the Silver Ferns' less-than-convincing performances against England.
Although the Silver Ferns beat England in all three tests (65-41, 55-35 and 48-41) their performances were far from perfect.
There were flashes of brilliance, but New Zealand were guilty of losing too much ball, their timing was sometimes out and their game was often disjointed, Broughton said.
"I think we have to be a lot more mean with possession. We had far too many turnovers.
"I don't think we were ruthless enough. I mean how hard are our girls really? We tend to pat ourselves on the back all the time when we may need to toughen up."
She said New Zealand obviously need a variety of combinations for the world championships, but the series showed many combinations needed strengthening.
"We can't afford to be predictable, otherwise Australia will eat us.
"There is something missing, but I can't put my finger on it."
Auckland Diamonds coach Joan Hodson said she beleived New Zealand should have been 40 points better than England.
"Twenty goals [victory margins] is fine, but for the standard of players we've got they should be hitting 40 at least," said Hodson, a Silver Fern from 1986 to 1993.
"It's a bit early to start flicking the panic button, but there are concerns."
Hodson identified poor timing, inaccurate passing and a lack of communication as New Zealand's biggest problems.
She also believed there was a lack of back-up for the key goal attack and goal defence positions, should Belinda Colling and Sheryl Clarke get injured.
But Canterbury Flames coach Margaret Foster disagreed.
"I thought they looked good and very impressive," she said.
"It was good to see some different combinations out there."
Foster said the narrow 48-41 win in the last game, where New Zealand tried out several combinations, was not a worry.
"We could have put our so-called strongest team on, who probably would have hammered them, but that was not the focus. It was to give players court time."
Another former Silver Fern, Sandra Edge, said the signs for the world championships next month were "really encouraging."
"Maybe I'm just an optimist [but] I think they look really balanced."
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