Netball: Ferns told take responsibility for blunders

Irene Van Dyk receives a pass during the second test match against Australia in Melbourne last night. Photo / Getty Images

BRISBANE - The Silver Ferns' brains trust have put the onus on the players to address their woeful error count as they look to reclaim the lead in the trans-Tasman netball series here on Sunday.

Assistant coach Wai Taumaunu said the story of their 44-48 loss to Australia in last night's second test in Melbourne was simple: too many giveaways to the home side.

The Silver Ferns' statistics showed Australia benefited from 35 turnovers during the match, 22 of which were unforced errors.

In contrast, New Zealand's 33 possession gains included only eight unforced errors from their more disciplined hosts, who levelled the five-test series 1-1.

Australia's glut of possession was shown by the fact they hoisted 68 shots to the New Zealanders' 54.

Taumaunu said the final quarter, which her side won 14-6 after trailing by as many as 16 goals early in the second half, showed how simple it was.

"The last quarter when we were convincingly better than Australia the real difference was we stopped those errors. We stopped giving the ball up," she said after the team arrived in Brisbane today.

"Why we did that is a really good question. We're going to start examining that and players need to contribute to that much more. It's not just about coaches looking on and making guesses."

Taumaunu and head coach Ruth Aitken made their feelings clear during the first-half horrors.

They benched goal defence Katrina Grant at quartertime, dragged off wing attack Maree Bowden at the main break and reshuffled the midcourt with Temepara George and Laura Langman moving forward a spot and Larissa Willcox taking the wing defence bib for her first test against Australia.

Goal attack Paula Griffin showed promising signs in general play after a nervy shooting start when she replaced Maria Tutaia, who suffered a minor thigh strain but should be fit for Sunday.

Australia, meanwhile, played an unchanged lineup with returning vice-captain Natalie von Bertouch providing the glue in the midcourt, and goal attack Susan Pratley winning the player-of-the-match award.

Former captain Langman, who shifted from her favoured wing defence spot back to centre, was honest in her assessment.

"It was pretty poor, to be honest," she said.

"The encouraging thing is we showed really good courage to come back. But there is a lot to work on and we're going to be really critical over these next few days on the brutal facts and what we need to do to turn a very pear-shaped performance around."

Langman said they continued to be baffled by their inconsistent efforts in Australia, adding some players felt the warning signs were there in the warmups.

In the past four years they have followed a first test victory across the Tasman with a defeat.

Taumaunu said there was no point ranting and raving at the players, who knew how many blunders they had made.

On the positive side, she felt the overall defence improved from their first test win in Sydney.

"I would like to see us have a good offensive and defensive performance on Sunday.

"The fourth quarter showed a good attack is the best kind of pressure on the Australians because it keeps the ball out of their hands."

- NZPA