Netball: Australians happy to play mind games

Australia's netballers believe they will be armed with a psychological weapon alongside an imposing array of talent when they seek to retain their Commonwealth Games gold medal in Manchester.

New Zealand's painful habit of failing to close out victories against their arch rivals from match-winning positions in recent years could be a factor in Australia's favour, according to captain Kathryn Harby-Williams.

"It's definitely a plus for us. They've had some devastating losses and I would hate to be in their shoes," she said.

New Zealand famously squandered a six-point lead in the final quarter of the world championship decider in Christchurch in 1999.

A year earlier at Kuala Lumpur, the Silver Ferns also led into the final minutes before Australia overtook the New Zealanders to win gold with a nailbiting 42-39 victory.

"People still talk about the '91 world championship final as well," said Harby-Williams of another heart-breaking New Zealand loss.

She struggled to pinpoint how Australia had the ability to overcome adversity at New Zealand's expense.

"The Australian culture is to fight until you can't fight anymore, and that's certainly a trait of the Australian netball team. It's a combination of that and luck that helps us win close games," Harby-Williams said.

"They've (New Zealand) been very unlucky. At the '99 world champs they could easily have won but luck was on our side."

So was shooter Sharelle McMahon who sunk the deciding shot in the dying seconds.

The 42-test veteran was unsure how the Silver Ferns' spate of narrow losses would affect them in Manchester.

"I suppose if it's happened a couple of times it might start to play on their minds but I don't put a lot (of emphasis) on what's happened in the past," McMahon said.

"When you're stepping out there it's a new game, I haven't thought of mentioning '99' to the New Zealand defenders."

The Australian side held their last public training session here yesterday and will depart for a pre-Games camp in Wales on July 14 where an Australian Institute of Sport side will provide the opposition.

McMahon said the team did not feel any great public pressure, although they are the defending champions and world No 1.

"We've made a lot of sacrifices so we put more pressure on ourselves to perform," she said.

The team had a pep talk from a member of Australia's gold medal-winning women's hockey team at the Sydney Olympics as part of their build-up.

"She told us no one is ever going to want you to win more than you want to win yourself, that's a good way of looking at it," McMahon said.

While the Australian team are familiar with the style of the Silver Ferns' play, the Jamaicans were an unknown quantity, prompting coach Jill McIntosh to source tapes of New Zealand's three-test series in the Caribbean last March.

Australia meet the Jamaicans in pool play at Manchester, for the first time since the 1999 world champs.

"They are a dangerous side and unlike New Zealand we haven't seen them for a while. There's been a lot of changes in our team since then so a lot of the girls haven't played them," Harby-Williams said.

"They're very talented but they're not consistent, but if they find consistency in one game sometimes that's all you need and they can beat anyone."

- NZPA