Netball: How the Silver Ferns plan to bounce back for series decider against England Roses

Silver Ferns' Claire Kersten and Serena Guthrie of England tussle for the ball. Photo / Photosport

Silver Ferns assistant coach Deb Fuller admits her side needs to adapt and tweak its strategy after struggling to deal with an energetic England on Wednesday night.

The Roses levelled the Taini Jamison Trophy series at 1-1 thanks in large part to a dominant second half that forced the Ferns into uncharacteristic errors, with the hosts blowing a three-goal lead at halftime to slump to a 55-45 defeat.

Fuller said the Ferns simply weren't able to handle the speed and defensive pressure England played with in the second half.

"It was a late night looking at footage. But it's all about you've got to turn things around, we've got to reset and tweak our strategy going into this third test on Friday which is an awesome opportunity," Fuller told Gold AM's Country Sport Breakfast.

"Definitely not surprised because they've got a good core of experienced players that had an opportunity to have a look at our playing system on Monday night and they responded well. They applied the pressure to us in the second half, forced us into errors. We had nine passing turnovers more than them, which meant you can't win a game of netball with that.

"We kind of went into – which is what happens – individual mode sometimes. And then you come out of the team system that you want to play because you want to over-try and try and make things work, and the more you do that, it just takes you off your job of being in the present and just getting your job done."

While she admitted where the team went wrong, Fuller said she's confident the players have it in them to bounce back.

"They applied pressure all the way through the court, they opened up our defence and sped through the middle. It's great to see how quickly they adjusted and then we were on the back foot going into the last quarter.

"I think we were down by three or four, and when that happens in international netball, usually the front running team plays a possession game. And then they controlled the clock. So we were chasing, we were sloppy with some of our skills, but it's nothing that we can't fix.

"I'm really confident that we've got the skillset within our team and also the mentality to go after it on Friday."

Grace Nweke in action. Photo / Photosport

One of the positives from the loss was the first test start for 19-year-old goal shoot Grace Nweke, who struggled to emulate the form she showed in this year's ANZ Premiership for the Mystics, but showed glimpses of why she's touted as a future Ferns star.

Fuller said Nweke handled the pressure well and will only improve going forward.

"It was awesome to get her out there; she was ready to get out there. The placement of some of the passes to her put her under immense pressure and you add that to her coming up against such an experienced player like Geva Mentor. I think she absorbed that really well.

"We just have to be mindful of our feeders giving ball to her - give her a chance to catch and play to her strengths. She is amazing as a person; her application to everything she's done in our camp has been outstanding. She deserved the start and the opportunity. We'll all probably see her out there again on Friday."

The Ferns will also be sweating on the fitness of newly appointed captain Gina Crampton and goal attack Tiana Metuarau, who are both awaiting medical reports after picking up minor injuries during the week.

Balancing injuries, player welfare and game time will be crucial for the Ferns in Friday's series decider, with international tests coming at a premium due to the uncertain Covid environment ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 10 months.

"We are managing bodies given that it is a three-test series over a week and we've had limited build-up. So it's important for us to look now and seal the deal on Friday.

"But it's also important for us to manage player loads and also give girls international experience, because this may be the last international experience we have before the Commonwealth Games. So you never know what's going to happen going into the next 10 months and our build-up to that, so we've got to make the most of it."

The series decider between the Silver Ferns and the England Roses kicks off at 7.30pm on Friday.