Netball: Ferns on right course, says coach

New Silver Ferns coach Janine Southby. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Dana Johannsen compares new Silver Ferns mentor Janine Southby with outgoing Waimarama Taumaunu

Janine Southby

As tempting as it might be for a new coach to stamp their mark by ringing the changes, Southby says that approach would be counter-productive to the national programme.

Southby, who was this week named as just the 10th coach of the Silver Ferns in the team's 77 year-history, is deeply conscious of the fact she is taking over a team that has already undergone a massive amount of change in the past year.

In the last 12 months we've seen Joline Henry, Liana Leota and Jodi Brown retire from international netball.

And it is likely there will soon be a changing of the guard in the defensive end, with inspirational skipper Casey Kopua and veteran defender Leana de Bruin also expected to hang up the black dress.

But it has been a new attacking philosophy that has brought about the biggest change in the New Zealand set-up and proved the catalyst for a remarkable turnaround in their competitive standing with Australia.

After losing all five of their meetings with the Diamonds in 2014 by an average of 12.2 goals, the Ferns this year won three of their six meetings with Australia, finishing the year with an equal for and against record.

Southby says she is keen to continue to build on the platform that has been set by Taumaunu.

"I'm hugely respectful that I'm coming into an environment where there's been a lot of gains made recently, I don't want everyone to turn cold on those," said Southby, who steps down as Southern Steel coach to take up the Ferns' top job.

"The way the Ferns have attacked this last series and even through the World Cup the way they were playing, I think we've made massive growth.

"It has been exciting to watch and it harks back to the way New Zealand teams of earlier eras played."

As well as trying to keep pace with an Australian programme that is better resourced (the team now tours with over 10 coaching, management and medical staff, the Ferns just five) and blessed with greater player depth, Southby expects one of her biggest challenges early on will be building relationships - not just with the players, but within New Zealand netball.

To achieve success with the Ferns, Southby will need to work closely with the franchise coaches and get their buy-in. This came easily for a coach like Taumaunu, who as a former New Zealand captain and experienced international coach immediately commanded respect.

But Southby is still to a certain extent unproven and will need to work hard to build strong working relationships with the local coaches.

She said this is particularly important when it comes to managing the players' workloads and ensuring the players are properly conditioned for the test netball, where the Ferns will often play to three games a week, as opposed to one in the ANZ Championship.

"You have long periods of time where you don't see them, so you're trusting that they're doing the work away from you.

"I know that is certainly an area that Wai has worked really hard in, particularly over the last year, to work with the franchises to make sure the players are conditioned," said Southby.

Southby said it is also important she has the right technical support in the role, with the hunt for her assistant coach to get underway in the next couple of weeks.

Considered more of an attacking coach, Southby said she is looking for a coach that can complement her skills.

"A little bit is finding the best balance for me, someone I can work with, someone who challenges me and someone who has the expertise in the areas I need them," Southby said.

Waimarama Taumaunu. Photo / Getty Images

Waimarama Taumaunu

Not a lot has gone the Silver Ferns' way over the past four years, but outgoing coach Waimarama Taumaunu believes the national side has turned a corner in the past 12 months.

It's for that reason Taumaunu feels comfortable stepping aside when her contract ends at the end of the month, secure in the knowledge she has left a solid platform for new coach Janine Southby to build on.

Taumaunu couldn't have said the same this time last year.

The Ferns had just come off their worst season in nearly two decades, losing the Commonwealth Games final to Australia by 18 goals, before the humiliation continued with a 4-0 loss to the Diamonds in the Constellation Cup. They then rounded out the year with an unconvincing 1-all series draw against a touring English side.

The horror season prompted a brutal review of the national programme and team culture, which highlighted three key issues - the need for players to be better conditioned for tournament play, inexperience in the shooting circle, and the leadership group not being empowered enough to drive team culture.

It also prompted Taumaunu and assistant coach Vicki Wilson to re-think the team's attacking strategy.

"I had thought that we needed to change [our style], but it is not until you plumb the depths that we plumbed last year that you get that critical impetus to change and that certainly happened amongst the players and all of the coaching and management staff," said Taumaunu.

After promoting a fairly risk averse strategy during her early years in charge, Taumaunu introduced a bold new attacking gameplan this season, giving the players the mandate to play with speed and flair. The more open, longer and wider style of game helped unlock the talents of Bailey Mes and Grace Rasmussen, who up until this season weren't regular starters, while it took the games of some of the more established members of the team like Laura Langman, Maria Tutaia and Jodi Brown to the next level.

There is no getting around the fact the Ferns failed to achieve their ultimate goal this year of winning the World Cup. Having knocked over the Australians in pool play, the 58-55 loss in the final will niggle at those involved with the campaign for many more years to come.

When asked if her young side had played beyond themselves at the Sydney tournament in August, Taumaunu disagreed. On the contrary, she said some of the players still don't realise how good they are and can be.

Given the struggles of the New Zealand sides in the ANZ Championship and the Ferns' recent poor record against their transtasman rivals, for many of the younger players defeat to Australia is just routine.

Having won three of their six meetings against Australia this year, including a brilliant 11-goal win in their final Constellation Cup clash last Friday, Taumaunu hopes she has finally rid the players of the notion they can't match the Diamonds.

"One of the more positive outcomes from Friday night was it provided reinforcement that sticking with the gameplan can work and I think there was an element of that, particularly for the youngsters," she said.

"I am a bit relieved that I feel that I have left them in a better position, because to have left last year where we were at, that would have felt very disheartening."