Netball: Transtasman wins high on Aitken's wish list

Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken. Photo / Brett Phibbs

High on Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken's wish list for the 2009 transtasman netball league is to see New Zealand teams beat their Australian arch-rivals.

In last year's inaugural ANZ Championship, none of the five New Zealand franchises won across the Tasman - even runners-up Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic could not win in Australia.

Aitken was reluctant to speculate as to the reason behind the dismal record, saying it was difficult to isolate any particular cause.

"It's really hard to say when you don't travel with them. I know it was a huge step up from the National Bank Cup, and what was a seven-week competition," she said.

"Possibly the support services played a part - the whole travel-recovery thing got really challenged by adding in Australia, and perhaps some of the franchise organisations had not been used to factoring that in."

It was possible there was still a subconscious residue of what she called the "small cousin" mentality when New Zealand teams played in Australia, she said.

"We do have to go with a huge amount of confidence that we're well-prepared, and we're ready for this.

"We do have to challenge those Australian teams more often and I'm very much looking forward to seeing that this year."

Despite last season's winless transtasman record, she said there were plenty of positives to be taken from the competition.

"The four franchises our Silver Ferns came out of each had success against the Australian teams at some point in time, it was just consistency they were lacking. Now with the added experience I'm really hoping for more consistent good performances."

One of the major benefits of the transtasman league has been the wide range of New Zealand players exposed week-in and week-out to the hard-nosed Australian style of play.

Aitken admitted that although players not in the league would have little or no chance of making the Silver Ferns, it would be hard to miss anyone who consistently performed well against such tough opposition.

"The great thing about the league is you actually see each of those players against the best in the world - New Zealand and Australian. You don't have to extrapolate too much in terms of your selection now.

"This year I'm really looking forward to seeing the movement the New Zealand teams have made in their off-season."

- NZPA