Coach Janine Southby prepares for a challenging Taini Jamison Trophy Series with sights firmly set on the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Photo / Getty
Coach Janine Southby prepares for a challenging Taini Jamison Trophy Series with sights firmly set on the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Photo / Getty
The Silver Ferns will battle for the Taini Jamison Trophy this week with coach Janine Southby braced for a challenging balancing act.
The Ferns will face the Malawi Queens, Jamaica Sunshine Girls, and the Fiji Pearls in the four day series that concludes less two weeks before the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Although the timing of the Taini Jamison Trophy provides a valuable opportunity for the Ferns to face international competition, prior to the Games, Southby said she won't be putting all her eggs in one basket.
"We will be trailing what we plan to do in the Commonwealth Games, but the other challenge in all of this, is that you don't want to show everything either," Southby told the Herald.
"This is a challenge for us because we obviously want to win the series, but we are looking ahead at the Commonwealth Games."
"It's also important that all the players get regular court time over the series, and the challenge is doing that without upsetting combinations and flow."
Following the Northern Netball Quad Series, the Ferns have endured two tough training camps, and have played with their home franchises.
The Silver Ferns netball team for the 2018 Commonweath Games. Photo / Getty
Southby said the team had worked on many aspects of their game play, such as unit combinations, defense, and connections, while honing down on their biggest challenge: consistency.
"The big thing for us is being at our best consistently, it's been our ongoing challenge. We know that we are very capable when we are playing well, we are hard to stop," she said.
"There's been patches in every game we've played were we've been great and then we fall off the pace, so that's certainly been something that we've worked on."
The Silver Ferns will play their opening match of the Taini Jamison Trophy tomorrow evening against the Malawi Queens, who they last faced in the 2015 Netball World Cup.
Historically, Malawi have not posed as a serious threat to the Ferns, however, Southby said she believed that every team in the series would test the Ferns in an individual way.
"I think we've got lots of challenges, all the teams provide different challenges and we totally respect all of them, they've got great athletes," she said.
The Silver Ferns struggled to stay consistent during their performance at the Northern Netball Quad Series. Photo / Getty
"Jamaica is a team that when they get things right, they challenge any team and have the capability of taking any team, and Malawi's the same. They've both grown in confidence over the last number of years and while that's great for netball, it certainly makes it uncomfortable for the rest of us."
"We're approaching it with 'we've got to get our processes right and the outcome will take care of itself,' and I know that's really cliché in sport, but that's pretty much what we're doing."
Silver Ferns goal shoot Grace Nweke speaks about the Constellation Cup series and the rivalry against the Diamonds in the final match. Video / Alyse Wright
