Netball: Latu on the rise - Taumaunu

Cathrine Latu of the Silver Ferns and Julie Corletto of the Diamonds compete for the ball. Photo / Getty Images

Waimarama Taumaunu hopes this year's Constellation Cup will prove the making of Cathrine Latu.

And given the personal growth she has seen from the mercurial goal shoot from that awful 17-goal loss in game one to Wednesday night's more competitive showing in game two, Taumaunu has reason to be optimistic.

Having only played two full games against Australia prior to this series, Latu is still adjusting to her role as the anchor in the Ferns shooting end following the retirement of shooting legend Irene van Dyk. Without the safety net of van Dyk sitting on the bench if things go wrong, and her long-time shooting partner Maria Tutaia sidelined for the series with a foot injury, there is a lot more pressure on Latu.

After a poor showing in the opening test in Invercargill, Taumaunu was pleased to see a largely more assured performance from Latu in game two. While there were times in the match the 1.88m shooter was kept quiet by the suffocating defence of Diamonds captain Laura Geitz, Latu also enjoyed periods of dominance in the match, proving she has the ability to stamp her mark on a game.

"I was actually really proud of Cathrine. She had two new goal attacks [Bailey Mes and Ameliaranne Wells], she is still a relative newbie on the international stage herself, and she had to step up and take a leading role and she did that," said Taumaunu.

But the biggest challenge for the feisty Latu has been learning to her emotions in check.
As all shooters do, Latu cops a lot of close attention from the defenders and one of the criticisms of her game is that she often loses her composure when she feels she has been roughly treated in the circle.

She is also guilty at times of reacting when the calls don't go her way, which saw a couple of Australian penalties advanced up the court in the opener. In Wednesday night's 49-40 loss however, Latu did not allow her frustration to boil over.

"I think she got some attention from the defenders, and there wasn't the emotional response we sometimes see from Cathrine, so that was very pleasing to see."

Taumaunu is hoping to see further development from her star shooter in tomorrow's third test in Sydney. Now the Diamonds have had an opportunity to have a closer look at the new shooting pairing of Latu and Wells, the Ferns attack won't have the same element of surprise, so they will need to be sharper and more consistent.

Despite winning Wednesday's second test by nine goals, Australia were unhappy with elements of their performance - particularly a 10-15 minute stretch from the middle third period to about five minutes into the fourth, which saw the Diamonds let a 10-goal lead shrink to just two. Ominously for the Ferns, Australia are seeking huge improvement in Sydney.