{"id":82796,"date":"2025-10-16T19:14:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/82796\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T19:14:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:14:18","slug":"silver-ferns-v-australia-kiwis-scramble-to-solve-netballs-shooting-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/82796\/","title":{"rendered":"Silver Ferns v Australia: Kiwis scramble to solve netball\u2019s shooting puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goal attack is a \u201ccritical piece\u201d in a team\u2019s strategy, says Silver Ferns interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie<\/a>. After stepping in at short notice, she says she\u2019ll continue with Taurua\u2019s vision for \u201cvariation\u201d in the second shooter role \u2013 with no senior Ferns to fill it.<\/p>\n

With veteran Ferns Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Maia Wilson both taking a break from the game, it\u2019s left a critical void in the Ferns\u2019 attack \u2013 which will be magnified against their fiercest rivals, Australia\u2019s Diamonds, whose defence is stacked with smarts and exposure at the apex of the game.<\/p>\n

\"YvetteYvette McCausland-Durie. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

As they defend their Constellation Cup title, New Zealand\u2019s lack of experience in the goal attack bib is glaring. The Silver Ferns\u2019 three options for this four-test series \u2013 Amelia Walmsley<\/a>, Martina Salmon and Georgia Heffernan \u2013 share just 15 test caps between them. They\u2019ll face Diamonds star defender Courtney Bruce, who made a commanding return from injury in last week\u2019s whitewash of South Africa and has 85 appearances in the green and gold.<\/p>\n

And with the Australians claiming to know more than ever about the strengths and weaknesses of the Ferns\u2019 undisputed goal shoot Nweke<\/a> after she starred in their Super Netball league this season, her circle partner will need to be dynamic, inventive and fearless to shoot from anywhere.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been decades since goal attack posed such a conundrum for the Ferns. Ekenasio played 79 tests over the past 11 seasons, apprenticing under Maria Folau \u2013 who racked up 150 tests, often dominating from all arcs of the circle.<\/p>\n

\"AmeliaAmelia Walmsley in training with the Silver Ferns. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some great players in that position over the years, and sometimes a team played a particular way because of them,\u201d McCausland-Durie says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s part of our challenge. With different goal attacks, you\u2019ve got to think about their connection, not only with the goal shoot but with the wing attack, how they co-ordinate and link. We\u2019ve got to build all that \u2013 and build it quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning on the road<\/p>\n

Two of the contenders for the position \u2013 Amelia Walmsley and Martina Salmon \u2013 are both goal shoots who are learning on the job. They\u2019re still adjusting to the nuances of goal attack: running the right lines, keeping clear of the midcourt and building chemistry with Nweke.<\/p>\n

Georgia Heffernan is the only specialist goal attack of the trio.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got such a dynamic midcourt as we do in the Silver Ferns, you need to give them the space to do what they do best. For a goal attack, it\u2019s knowing when to be in the circle, when to come out, when to be involved in the centre pass,\u201d McCausland-Durie says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody is the one answer. Depending on who you\u2019re up against, you can make change. And the difference each one of them brings is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MartinaMartina Salmon shooting for the Ferns. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Walmsley returns after missing the Taini Jamison Trophy last month, having captained the New Zealand U21s to silver at the Youth World Cup in Gibraltar. She was the most dominant goal shooter in this year\u2019s ANZ Premiership, with 96% accuracy, and the likely starter at GA in this series.<\/p>\n

At 1.92m, she\u2019s just a centimetre shorter than Nweke \u2013 which makes an intriguing prospect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t often have a combination of twin towers at the shooting end, like you do in defence,\u201d McCausland-Durie says. \u201cOf course, Amelia and Martina can play at goal shoot, too, which adds other options on how we play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nweke is just 23 and looks set to dominate the international scene for years, like Irene van Dyk and Folau before her. If Walmsley, with six tests to her name, wants to establish herself in the Silver Ferns, it may have to be at goal attack.<\/p>\n

Taurua worked with Walmsley in the goal attack position for the past two seasons, impressed with the 21-year-old\u2019s strong work ethic and openness to learning new skills. She and Nweke teamed up in the circle in the fourth spell of the final Constellation Cup match last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmelia played well in Gibraltar, and really thrived in the captaincy and the ability to lead,\u201d McCausland-Durie says. \u201cIt\u2019s a real sign when players at the highest level can also play in their own age group and flourish from those opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salmon, meanwhile, is also tall (1.9m) and owns a superb long-range shot \u2013 evident in her Fast5 debut last year, where she downed a six-point buzzer beater to send the Fast Ferns into the final.<\/p>\n

In the third Taini Jamison test, she backed herself to score the match-winner in the final minute. She featured in all three matches, scoring 27 of her 33 attempts (82% accuracy).<\/p>\n

She\u2019s growing in confidence on court and has no fear of shooting from distance. But her communication with Nweke and overall court awareness still need attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe third test was the first full game she\u2019d ever played at goal attack,\u201d McCausland-Durie says. \u201cWhat she brings is the ability to shoot from real range, particularly long range. That long shot is useful when you\u2019re trying to create a one-on-one down by the post with Grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd she has the ability to be seen \u2013 when she\u2019s moving around in that goal third, she\u2019s really visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith more fitness, her ability to transition between those spaces will come. We saw her grow from test one to test three. That courage to shoot long is just within her \u2013 she loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GeorgiaGeorgia Heffernan in action for the Silver Ferns against South Africa. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Georgia Heffernan (twin sister of Ferns midcourter Kate) played two of the South Africa games, scoring nine of her 13 attempts. She has speed, vision and a beautiful long shot, but seemed hesitant to put the ball up in the second test.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Georgia offers is the time she\u2019s had at goal attack; she built her craft in that position as a young player,\u201d McCausland-Durie says.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s got speed, fitness and timing, and she knows the lines to run. She knows how to be involved in the centre pass, and an offload if needed, and she can shoot. She\u2019s a smaller, mobile attacker, and sometimes they\u2019re hard for defenders to find.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filda Vui, the potent Mystics goal attack who made her brief Ferns debut in the Taini Jamison series, has been left out of the touring team with Walmsley\u2019s return.<\/p>\n

McCausland-Durie is also aware she needs back-up for Nweke. Although the 41-test shooter went on a scoring spree against South Africa, averaging 56 goals a test, the Australians now know her style much better since she turned out for the NSW Swifts in Suncorp Super Netball.<\/p>\n

As Bruce told Fox Sports: \u201cI feel like it will be close \u2013 we\u2019ve got a lot more experience playing against someone like Grace now, after her being in SSN. Hopefully that bodes well for us this series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diamonds hot on revenge<\/p>\n

The world champion Australians are out for redemption after losing last year\u2019s Constellation Cup 3-1. They\u2019re fresh from three decisive wins over the Proteas \u2013 whereas the Ferns came close to losing their third test with South Africa, under obvious physical and mental strain.<\/p>\n

The Diamonds are overwhelmingly more experienced than the Ferns \u2013 with 529 caps to New Zealand\u2019s 323.<\/p>\n

Bruce, MVP in her return appearance, leads a formidable defensive circle with Sara Klau (61 tests) and Sunday Aryang (34 tests). But they also field two impressive up-and-coming defenders for this series \u2013 Matilda Garrett and Ash Ervin.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Silver Ferns in a team huddle at training. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

McCausland-Durie knows they could well put two defenders on Nweke under the post, forcing the goal attack to take more shooting responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they sit two on Grace and we continue to bullet it into her, there\u2019ll be times when she\u2019ll go up between them and take the ball, and other times when we\u2019re just handing the ball over,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s that challenge of how you read the cues of the defence, where their weight is shifting to, to know when and where the replacement needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

If required, both Walmsley and Salmon can take on the goal shoot bib, too.<\/p>\n

With the loss of key players \u2013 and the standing-down of their longtime coaching bench in the past month \u2013 the Silver Ferns will be the underdogs once again in this Constellation Cup, which travels to Sydney, Hamilton and Christchurch over the next fortnight.<\/p>\n

But McCausland-Durie, drafted in again for this series and next month\u2019s British tour while the Taurua saga remains unresolved, has faith in her squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying Australia is the ultimate challenge,\u201d she says. \u201cWe had a really good camp and got through a lot. There\u2019s always that risk when you take a break that they\u2019ll drift off, but they\u2019ve been really good at just getting on with things. Despite everything, they\u2019ve been able to make netball the focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flying out with the Ferns on Wednesday, Nweke said she didn\u2019t regret her now famous plea after the final South African test last month \u2013 \u201cNoels if you\u2019re listening, we love you and we miss you and we want you back here\u201d \u2013 and would do it again.<\/p>\n

She also stressed the team were \u201cunited\u201d and intent on shutting out the turbulence swirling around their sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cReflecting on the [Constellation Cup] last year, it was hard enough to win as is, with a pretty standard training and playing environment, with no outside noise or drama,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s definitely going to be a new challenge for us with all that\u2019s going on, to kind of compartmentalise even more so and kind of drop that and really focus on where we are in that moment and who we have got.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of buy-in, belief and determination to do the job. We know what it takes, we\u2019ve been there before, so it\u2019s an exciting opportunity for us to show some resilience, some mental fortitude and really band together for this series.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Silver Ferns meet the Australian Diamonds in Melbourne on Friday night for test one of the Constellation Cup at 9.30pm (NZT).<\/p>\n

Live commentary: GOLD SPORT & iHeartRadio<\/p>\n

Live updates: nzherald.co.nz<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz<\/a> and is republished with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Goal attack is a \u201ccritical piece\u201d in a team\u2019s strategy, says Silver Ferns interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie. After…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,10541,807,14719,14721,63560,111,139,69,8685,1957,7819,7457,63559,213,14720,61],"class_list":["post-82796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-australia","tag-ferns","tag-kiwis","tag-lockerroom","tag-mcfadden","tag-netballs","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-puzzle","tag-scramble","tag-shooting","tag-silver","tag-solve","tag-sports","tag-suzanne","tag-to"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}