Pearce in Singapore's corner

When Singapore hosts the world netball championships in two months, Marton school teacher Annette Pearce will be in the home team's corner.
Pearce, a netball coach with 20 years' experience, has been recruited as the team's video analyst, a job she did with the Silver Ferns in the heartbreak loss to Australia at the world champs two years ago.
The job means she will be hooking up again with former Pulse coach Kate Carpenter, a New Zealander with 13 years of coaching, including a time steering the country's A squad.
Pearce was Carpenter's assistant at the Wellington-based Pulse. They were both dismissed after a dismal first season where the Pulse failed to win a game.
A bruising experience but Pearce has long since moved on.
She said she was approached by Singapore after they played the Canterbury Tactix in a transtasman league warm-up match this year.
She has an excellent CV and sees the Singapore job as a stepping-stone to higher honours ... maybe even the soon-to-be vacated Pulse coaching job.
Yvette McCausland-Durie said this week she would not be staying with the struggling franchise after the end of the season as the weekly commute from Manawatu to Wellington was proving too much and she wanted more time with her young children.
Pearce was reluctant to confirm her interest in the job, but said she "always considered these positions when they came up".
"They may decide to promote Gail Parata [assistant coach], so we'll just have to see what they come up with."
Pearce had chased the position before but was knocked back on her "lack of international experience".
Apart from an excellent record with Kaierau in the local premier competition, she has also coached the national secondary schools side and one year won the transtasman series.
Pearce said she had gained a wealth of knowledge about the game from former Australian coach Jill McIntosh.
Small in stature, Singapore's players will have their work cut out against Jamaica in their championship group.
But Pearce isn't one to shirk a challenge and is looking forward to working with Carpenter again, who is also fully aware of the magnitude of the task as Singapore coach. She has modest aspirations - a top 12 finish would be nice.
"Singapore is the leading nation in the Asian region, and the opportunity to host a world championship speaks volumes about Netball Singapore's capabilities," she said.