Netball: Willering sees risk of player burnout

Silver Ferns' coach Yvonne Willering laughs at suggestions that she is keeping her players in cotton wool for next month's world championships in Christchurch.

She says the controversy surrounding the absence of the Silver Ferns at this week's national tournament in Palmerston North would not have surfaced if her critics knew what she had in store for the team.

The Silver Ferns went into camp in Wanganui yesterday and will play five games in four days against a New South Wales Academy team.

Critics, including coaches whose teams have been hit by the Ferns' unavailability, argue that Willering is being overly cautious by preventing her players from representing their provinces at the tournament.

But Willering insists the fear of injury did not influence her request for the Silver Ferns to be stood down, and defends the worth and timing of the training camp.

She says Australia are following New Zealand's lead by blocking their players from competing at upcoming national championships.

"To suggest I'm putting them in cotton wool is not quite true.

"If they're going to get injured here they could just as easily get injured at the camp."

Willering says the fear of burnout partly prompted her request that the Silver Ferns be pardoned from the nationals.

"Provincial pride would have meant they would have been totally focused for the nationals and trying to play out of their socks, but we didn't want them peaking now."

The Silver Ferns will meet again in Queenstown in a fortnight, then assemble in Christchurch on September 18, five days before their opening world championship game against Canada.

Meanwhile, Netball New Zealand have defended their controversial national championships format, which has come under fire this week.

The format gives every team a chance of qualifying for today's semifinals regardless of their previous results.

The system ignores the results of the first three days of pool play.

The association's game development manager, Colleen Dryden, defends the format.

"There is no real deep and meaningful reason behind it. It's just another way to do the draw," she says.

"It promotes excellence. If you're good enough to be there at the end, you will be there no matter the format."

Last year's national championship was preceded by preliminaries held over several weeks. However, this was changed back to a week-long tournament at the request of the unions. - NZPA