The spotlight shone on the new kid and the comeback queen in the Silver Ferns dominant win over Fiji in the first of three pre-World Cup hit-outs last night in Wellington.
The match marked inspirational captain Casey Kopua's return to the international arena after suffering a horrific knee injury last year, while rookie shooter Malia Paseka made her first test appearance, coming off the bench in the final quarter. By the time the 20-year-old took the court her side were already well in control of the match, leading 70-21 at the final change of ends. But the youngster still had a couple of anxious early touches, before finding her feet as the quarter wore on, finishing with a return of 12/14.
But last night was not about sentiment for coach Waimarama Taumaunu. With their opening match of the World Cup just two weeks away, of greater importance was fine-tuning the links between the new midcourt and shooting combinations.
After wins by margins of 53 and 42 goals in the Oceania Series in Suva in January, the Ferns last night took another step up, demolishing the visitors by 60 goals on the back of a dominant defensive performance. But there were still patches of untidy attacking play that will be of concern to the Ferns, particularly in the second quarter where they showed a noticeable drop-off after an impressive 22-3 opening quarter.
"We tried things, sometimes they didn't come off but I'm really pleased we stuck to our task." said Taumaunu.
