Netball: Plummer sharpens her selection pencil

Australian coach Norma Plummer. Photo / Martin Sykes

While the Silver Ferns were making their way to Wellington last night ahead of the second test, Australian coach Norma Plummer was sitting down with selectors to decide which of her players would be crossing the Tasman to see out the rest of the series.

To maximise their preparation time for the second test the Ferns flew back to New Zealand just hours after their 48-43 loss to Australia.

The Australians will follow later today, but first Plummer must decide who will be on the plane.

She has held off naming her Commonwealth Games team, instead rotating 15 players during their three-test win over Jamaica this month and used last night's test to have one final look at her extended squad.

Rookie defender Amy Steel, midcourter Madison Browne and shooter Susan Pratley were the three players to miss out on the match day squad yesterday. But that does not necessarily mean they will be the three to miss out this morning.

With the two youngsters, Steel and Browne, sitting on the sidelines last night, it seemed the Australian selectors had settled on their defensive and midcourt units, with Pratley omitted because her position in the shooting end is safe.

The final decision in the shooting end looked to come down to Kate Beveridge and Natalie Medhurst, with the latter almost certainly securing her place with a brilliant performance against Ferns captain Casey Williams.

Plummer agreed it has been the shooting end that has provided the most difficulty.

"We're still twitching over one position," she said. "We've had a pretty good look at the girls now, so we know the depth, we know their strengths and weaknesses. The selectors will sit down ... and we'll go over the game and decide who's in and who's out."