KEY POINTS:
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken faces a long summer plotting and planning for next season after the New Zealand side finished the year with a mediocre four-win, three-loss record.
Aitken will spend the next six weeks reviewing the year and evaluating the team members' performances before putting plans in place for 2009.
Despite the unflattering record, the Ferns coach believes her side have made some positive gains, but she admits a two-goal loss to Australia in their final hit-out will gnaw away at the team for some time. Had New Zealand managed to get up and win the final test, the team would have looked back on 2008 much more favourably.
But after a dismal 2007 season, in which the Ferns managed just one win in five outings against Australia and relinquished their world crown, Aitken believes 2008 was a step in the right direction for her side.
Though the Diamonds were missing a couple of key players from this year's campaign, Aitken pointed out the dominance of the Australian franchises in this year's transtasman league illustrates the superior depth across the Tasman. She said in light of the overall failure of the New Zealand sides to make an impact in the ANZ Championship, the Ferns' performances this season were creditable.
"I think at the end of ANZ Championships when we had one New Zealand team in the top five, if we had been told we'd win two series against Australia [decided on goal differential] and be 2-all at the end of the year, then I think we would have been very pleased," said Aitken.
The major concern is how New Zealand will fare next season when the Diamonds' frontline shooters return to the fold.
But Aitken said there is a chance the Ferns could also be bolstered by the return of a couple of experienced players. Missing from national duty this year were the likes of Adine Wilson, Jodi Brown and Temepara George, but with the trio set to play in the ANZ Champs next season, there is still plenty of talent from outside the New Zealand squad that can be considered.
"You don't know what's going to happen in terms of our players, whether there are going to be others that slot back in as well," said Aitken.
The New Zealand coach admits she can't afford to rely on the return of past international stars, which is why the emergence of youngsters Katrina Grant and Liana Barrett-Chase as genuine starting options was a huge positive to come out of this year.
But is Aitken comfortable with the depth in her squad?
"I always want better depth and I still think there is a gap from our top line to the next tier and there is also a gap from the ones that were here away to the next tier in our squad," she said.
* Silver Ferns 2008 results
New Zealand v Australia (in NZ):
September 17 - 51-53 L
September 20 - 38-32 W
New Zealand v England (in NZ):
October 13 - 65-26 W
October 15 - 38-40 L
October 18 - 61-22 W
New Zealand v Australia (in Australia):
October 26 - 46-41 W
November 2 - 41-43 L
