Netball diary: Kiwi sides draw breath for comeback

Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken will be hoping Joline Henry (centre) doesn't suffer any setbacks after missing much of the preseason with a calf injury. Photo / Getty Images

With the first stage of the 2010 ANZ Championship season complete, the general mood on this side of the Tasman is that of disappointment over the progress of the New Zealand sides in the opening rounds.

The opening rounds of the competition have on the whole been disastrous for the Kiwi teams. As each week has passed the standard of performance seems to have hit a new low.

But relief of sorts is on the way. This weekend the competition will morph into a quasi-domestic league, with the five New Zealand and the five Australian franchises doing battle among themselves for the next five weeks.

This presents the opportunity for the New Zealand sides to consolidate their gameplans and rebuild their confidence after what for many of them has been a very ugly start to their campaigns, before the transtasman contests resume in round 11.

It is interesting to note that over the past couple of seasons the progress of the Kiwi teams have generally followed the same pattern.

They have been outclassed by the Australian teams in the opening rounds, but make vast improvements over the second half of the competition once they have developed strategies and confidence in their ability to combat the tough, physical style of Australian play.

Can we find a Pulse?

The Central Pulse have been through some pretty tough times in the short history of the competition.

But after last week's 35-goal loss at home to the Adelaide Thunderbirds, there is no doubt the struggling franchise are at their lowest ebb. The Pulse remain stranded at the foot of the table with a 0-5 record.

On form they won't win a game this season. They have lost arguably their best player, Silver Ferns defender Katrina Grant, and this weekend even their coach won't be around.

Yvette McCausland-Durie won't be courtside for her side's round-six clash against the Southern Steel as she will be in Hamilton, as part of Sparc's coach accelerator programme.

But with all due respect to McCausland-Durie, this could be a good thing with Silver Ferns assistant and Pulse technical advisor Waimarama Taumaunu set to take over the reins this week.

For the players there is scarcely a sight more fearsome than Taumaunu glowering at you on the sidelines if you're not doing your job properly. If the former Ferns enforcer can't fire up this Pulse side, no one can.

A couple of Wellington Phoenix players also had a crack at trying to perk up the Pulse this week. Tim Brown and Ben Sigmund were both invited to team training this week, delivering the girls a mid-season pep talk in the hope it might inspire them through these tough times.

It's a method the Pulse management have used previously. Last year Jonah Lomu made an appearance at a Pulse training, when they were going through a particularly rough patch. That weekend the Pulse celebrated their first, and so far only, win in the ANZ Championship, upsetting the NSW Swifts with a narrow one-goal victory.

Whether Brown and Sigmund can reproduce the "Lomu effect" remains to be seen.

Battle of attrition

As if some of the Kiwi teams' performances this year weren't enough of a concern for the New Zealand selectors, Ferns coach Ruth Aitken will be keeping a nervous eye on the level of injuries in the New Zealand teams.

With many top players suffering niggly injuries behind the scenes, Aitken will be beginning to get concerned about the attrition rate this season.

The defence seems to be the most affected with Joline Henry, Katrina Grant and Sheryl Scanlan all battling to get back to full fitness.

Henry, who missed virtually the entire preseason with a calf injury, had a quiet start to the season, but showed promising signs in last week's loss to the Melbourne Vixens across the Tasman, performing well against dynamic shooter Sharelle McMahon.

Grant, however, has been forced out of the Central Pulse's line-up with a foot injury that has been plaguing the star recruit for nearly two months. It is hoped Grant will be back on court in round eight following the Pulse's bye round.

The prognosis is even worse for Scanlan, who made a brief return to the court against the Adelaide Thunderbirds in week four before aggravating her calf injury once again. The latest setback has almost certainly closed the door on any hopes Scanlan had of Silver Ferns reselection.

Most valuable in Australia

The ANZ Championship player of the year competition being run over in Australia has been raising a few eyebrows on this side of the Tasman.

As with previous years, up for grabs is a brand new Holden. Casey Williams drove away with the spoils in 2008, while Thunderbirds skipper Natalie von Bertouch was the lucky recipient last year after a very tightly fought battle between a number of top Australian and New Zealand players.

It seemed a wee bit odd then that after several weeks of the competition no New Zealand player featured in the top 10 on points.

Then, when Joline Henry picked up two points in the Mystics' loss to the Vixens in round five, an asterix appeared next to her name. As Alice says, things were getting "curiouser and curiouser".

After a few inquiries, it turns out only Australian players are in the running to be the "ANZ Championship player of the year". Perhaps those in charge of the competition should make that clear.