Stand-in Silver Ferns captain Phoenix Karaka says her side took advantage of long-term skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio.
Ekenasio is missing next month’s Nations Cup against England, Australia, and Uganda in Leeds and London after she requested time away.
Karaka, named to captain the side for the upcoming series in her place, told NZME the Ferns got too comfortable with Ekenasio constantly carrying everything.
“Sometimes players took advantage of the love that she has for us.
“There’s been a few of us who have reflected on [Ekenasio] as a captain and we really think that she carried the team a lot of the time.
“[Ekenasio] having this time off proves there is a bit of pressure being the captain,” Karaka said.
The 30-year-old Mystics defender told NZME there was a better balance and appreciation for Ekenasio when more senior players were in the squad.
“When we did have the likes of Gina [Crampton] and Sulu [Fitzpatrick], it was balanced quite easily and quite nicely.
“But now with majority of those players leaving, we haven’t really had that growth or the depth within the Ferns.”
Ekenasio, who has 70 test caps, captained the Silver Ferns at this year’s Netball World Cup in South Africa and also guided the team to the Taini Jamison Trophy win over England, and a narrow Constellation Cup series defeat to Australia last month.
When announcing Ekenasio’s hiatus last week, Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua said player welfare remained at the forefront of management’s planning.
“As part of our World Cup build-up this year, Ameliaranne, as Silver Ferns captain, has had a particularly heavy workload which was followed by a busy international season over the last two months.
”The physical loading in any pinnacle year is massive, and we want all athletes to have longevity in our game.
“We are mindful of the commitment that is required to keep body and mind balanced and it’s important that she takes time to rest and rejuvenate.”
Karaka will be joined in the leadership team by two faces of New Zealand’s netball future with Kate Heffernan, 24, and Grace Nweke, 21, named as her vice-captains.
The pair were named in the roles after a three-day camp in Auckland, which included three trial matches where a team of 11 and three training partners were named.
There will be a new look to the shooting circle with just three shooters named for the campaign including debutante Amorangi Malesala alongside Nweke and Amelia Walmsley.
The midcourt remains unchanged from last month’s Constellation Cup against Australia while Michaela Sokolich-Beatson comes into the defensive mix for Jane Watson.
Karaka says with Heffernan and Nweke helping carry leadership responsibility, there will be a good balance on the court, each representing the shooting, mid-court and defensive ends.
“Kate, she’s had an outstanding season this year just pretty much playing every game every minute for the Silver Ferns and I think she really does just naturally lead by how she plays.
“She’s such an exciting player to watch, but also she’s not too scared to say what she thinks, which is awesome.
“And then obviously Grace in the shooting circle, she is the most experienced player down there going into Nations Cup - so it was kind of a no-brainer.
“We also saw this as an opportunity for them to grow for the future.”
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME Sports team. She’s a keen footballer and has worked with the Alternative Commentary Collective and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a full-time journalist.