Netball: Pipped again - but why?

By JULIE ASH

For former players and some coaches, the Silver Ferns' Commonwealth Games loss to Australia felt like a recurring nightmare.

Since 1963, New Zealand have lost to Australia by one point in three world tournament finals - 37-36 in 1963, 53-52 in 1991 and 42-41 in 1999.

And they went down to Australia by one in the semis of the 1995 world tournament and by two in 1979.

More recently, the Ferns dipped out to the Aussies 42-39 in the 1998 Commonwealth Games final and 50-46 in last year's Fisher and Paykel series decider.

This week the devastating trend continued when the Ferns lost the Commonwealth Games final 57-55 in double overtime.

Although the one-goal loss in the 1999 world championships was particularly heartbreaking after the Ferns blew a six-goal lead going into the final quarter, Monday's match was almost as bad.

Both teams battled back from seven-goal deficits to end regular time locked at 46-46.

They were still level at the end of extra-time, forcing the match into sudden-death, meaning the first team to open a two-goal lead won.

New Zealand had their chances, but once again it was the Aussies who came out on top, ensuring their 15-year unbeaten record in world netball events stayed intact.

New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken said it was not in the players' minds that they could not beat Australia, but rival coach Jill McIntosh said the head, not the body, handed her side the gold medal.

For fans, the Games final could not have been more exciting.

"I thought, we've got it, we've got it, and then a few minutes later it was, oh we've lost it, we've lost it," said former Silver Fern and Southern Sting goal shoot Tania Dalton.

"The vision of those Australian girls jumping on each other at the end made me sick."

It was a great game, and the Silver Ferns played well, but as the old saying goes, no one remembers who finishes second.

"A lot of our players had been in that situation so many times previously that you would have thought they would have learnt," Dalton said, referring to the last few minutes of play.

A Silver Fern from 1992 until last year, Bernice Mene knows exactly how it feels to lose in the dying minutes of a game.

"It is always hard to come away with the silver," Mene said.

"The Silver Ferns were there for the gold. It was pretty devastating, but I thought it was a really good game."

Watching the game, a nervous Mene said she has never seen the Australians miss so many goals.

"There were so many times where I thought we had it."

Former Silver Ferns coach Lois Muir said the match was one of the most exciting she had seen.

"We are always going to be disappointed we didn't get the gold, but we have to be happy we got silver.

"They had to play well against Jamaica and England to get there," said Muir, who coached the New Zealand team to success at the 1987 world tournament, where they beat Australia 39-28 in the final.

The only other time New Zealand have beaten Australia to win a world tournament outright was in 1967, when they triumphed 40-34.

"Australia have pipped us a few times now and that is something we have to learn to do."

Muir said the loss was not as devastating as that at the 1999 world championships.

"Most people in their hearts will feel sad for them.

"We certainly had it in our grasp, but so did Australia many times. We came back at them and we have to take the positives out of it."

Auckland Diamonds coach Georgina Salter thought it was an "absolutely amazing" game.

"Unfortunately, our shooters didn't sustain it like the Aussie team. In the end it came down to their state of mind," Salter said.

"Donna Loffhagen got buried. She is easily the stature of the Australian defenders. I just kept thinking, 'Get your feet going Donna, which will pump your brain,' but she just didn't have light feet at all in that extra time."

New Zealand captain Julie Seymour said after the game that she was sure her team could not have given any more.

"It was the hardest game I've ever played in.

"The last of those normal 60 minutes were just so exhausting. So to suddenly face another 14 minutes was a daunting prospect."

Australian opposite Kathryn Harby-Williams described the winning feeling as "like being in fantasyland."

"I can't believe we can beat New Zealand like that so many times in the one sport," she said.

Neither can New Zealand netball fans, who know well that Monday's loss wasn't just a bad dream.

Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002

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