Netball: Silver Ferns prepare for emotional two weeks

Shannon Francois, Laura Langman, Katrina Grant, Casey Kopua and Jodi Brown of New Zealand sing the national anthem. Photo / Getty Images.

The Silver Ferns are not allowing the prospect of several big name retirements at the end of the year to distract the team in this month's Constellation Cup series.

Two months on from their heartbreaking three-goal loss to Australia in the World Cup final, the Ferns round out the international season with a further four tests against their transtasman rivals. The series will be coach Waimarama Taumaunu's last campaign in charge of the New Zealand side after announcing last month she would not be reapplying for the top job.

It could also be the last time we see some of the team's leading veterans in the black dress, with speculation the likes of captain Casey Kopua, fellow defender Leana de Bruin and shooter Jodi Brown may step down at the end of the year. All three have stated they will make a call on their international playing careers once the Constellation Cup is out of the way.

With the series possibly being the last time some of the players will be involved with the Ferns, there is the potential it could be an emotional few weeks for the New Zealand team. But Taumaunu said talk of farewelling some long-serving members of the team in fitting fashion has not been discussed among the group during this week's trials, with the team instead focused on continuing to build on the exciting, attacking style of game developed in the lead-up to the World Cup.

"There may be a couple of people who might [retire], but we're not making a big deal of it. It's not my style, it's not their's. I suspect a couple of them will just make that decision quietly when they finish, if that's the case, but it's certainly not been a big topic of conversation," said Taumaunu.

Kopua, who battled back from a devastating knee injury to lead her side at the Sydney tournament, said after the disappointment of falling short at another World Cup it took her some time to rediscover her motivation for this month's series, which begins in Christchurch on October 20. But being back in the team environment during this week's trials and having a new challenge to focus on has helped dull the pain of Sydney."I think we're all just looking forward to getting out on the court again, because there may be people you may not get to play again with, so you just have to make the most of the last four matches," she said.

Brown too admits in the weeks following the tournament she wasn't sure if she had it in her to get back up for another series against the Australians this year.

"It does take its toll, you wonder if you can give that much and more to compete again," she said.

"But I made the decision that I really want to pick up where we left off with this team. It was kind of exciting what we produced for most part of the World Cup and we're hoping we can continue to build from there and bring the Constellation Cup back to New Zealand."

Taumaunu will name her 12-strong team for the Constellation Cup tomorrow. It is expected there will be few changes from the team that contested the World Cup, with the exception of a slight re-jig of the shooting circle after Maria Tutaia opted to withdraw from the series.