By RICHARD BOOCK
It is not so much the accuracy of New Zealand's shooting as the quality of their passing which is set to decide tonight's transtasman netball test in Newcastle.
If Australia's response to the Silver Ferns' new shooting threat is as expected, moving the ball through the attacking third and penetrating the circle defence could prove New Zealand's toughest assignment in the one-off Fisher and Paykel Cup international.
Whatever other tactics might be up their sleeve, conventional coaching theory suggests the world champions will attempt to dilute the twin threats of Donna Loffhagen and Irene van Dyk by applying close-marking pressure in the mid-court and denying them quality service.
Australian coach Jill McIntosh has been around the block enough times to pull the relevant strings, but if she ever needed any further convincing, the videotape of van Dyk's effort in the Coca-Cola Cup semifinal this month would surely have done the trick.
In that match, an intense Flames' defence over-ran the Shakers' mid-court and shut down the feeding lanes so effectively that the former South African ace was reduced to the numbers of a mere mortal.
Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering, who has been addressing the supply-line threat by placing an emphasis on mid-court execution during the four recent practice games, said her team was expecting the Australians to throw everything at regaining the Fisher and Paykel Cup.
"We're in no doubt what we're up against," she said yesterday. "And I don't think there's any question of where we have to make the biggest adjustments - the mid-court.
"We've got a couple of different shooting combinations now which means changes in the way we manipulate the circle, and in how we go about providing quality service to Irene, Donna or Adine [Harper]."
Willering described Australia as a well-balanced team capable of altering the point of their attack, but was also encouraged by the variety and options available in her new millennium squad.
She said the elevation and sheer shooting accuracy of van Dyk and Loffhagen provided the Ferns with one highly efficient style, while the combination of van Dyk and Harper, or Loffhagen and Harper, injected greater mobility and movement into the circle.
Shooting combinations aside, the only other question about the likely New Zealand starting lineup involves the last line of defence, where Willering has the option of pairing skipper Bernice Mene with either Linda Vagana or Belinda Charteris.
If Vagana receives the nod, Mene will move out to goal-defence, but there is a chance Willering might start her captain alongside Belinda Charteris, as she did in the world championship final nine months ago.
Whatever lineup is finalised, new Australian captain Kathryn Harby has promised the Ferns an epic battle tonight, and refuses to concede that her much-altered squad are inferior to the one that lifted the world title.
Australia will carry an almost unrecognisable attack end into the annual showdown after the loss of five players, but Harby said her team's attention was completely focused on regaining the cup, which they lost for the first time last season.
New Zealand: Bernice Mene (capt), Linda Vagana, Belinda Charteris, Anna Veronese, Lesley Nicol, Julie Seymour, Anna Rowberry, Temepara George, Adine Harper, Donna Loffhagen, Irene van Dyk.
Australia: Kathryn Harby (capt), Liz Ellis, Sharon Finnan, Peta Squire, Janine Ilitch, Rebecca Sanders, Alex Hodge, Nicole Richardson, Sharelle McMahon, Megan Anderson, Catherine Cox, Eloise Southby.
Netball: Passing key factor for Silver Ferns
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