Netball New Zealand to hold review into Silver Ferns' Commonwealth Games failure

Netball New Zealand have announced that they will be holding a "comprehensive" review into the Silver Ferns' failure at the Commonwealth Games.

Over the past few months, the Ferns have been on a downwards spiral, losing multiple times to their three biggest rivals England, Jamaica and Australia, culminating in a disastrous Games campaign that saw the side miss out on a medal for the first time.

Netball NZ boss Jennie Wyllie said today that they were very disappointed with the Ferns' placing at the Gold Coast games.

"For a team with the proud history of the Silver Ferns, fourth is not good enough. We accept that this is the latest loss in a series of performances that were far from the best we have come to expect from one of New Zealand's leading sports teams," said Wyllie.

"Netball New Zealand will be holding a review, with the findings to be presented to the Netball New Zealand Board in early June.

"This review will be a comprehensive process lead by an independent expert. Athletes have a mandatory break of two weeks after which the review will commence. In order for this to be run in a robust and thorough manner this will take time.

Wyllie said they are committed to ensure the Silver Ferns can achieve at the highest level again.

"We will leave no stone unturned in the review. Without pre-empting the findings, we do not believe responsibility rests on any one person, or event. There are usually a range of factors in sport as to why a team isn't performing at the expected level.

"Netball New Zealand has a long and proud history of success at the highest level of national and international sport, and we have hugely talented young players.

"We are committed to resolving any issues that are identified in the review to ensure our Silver Ferns are once again at the top of the world in Netball."

Wyllie also spoke about Maria Folau's support of her husband Israel's controversial comments about homosexuality.

"We value inclusion and diversity, whether it's gender, ethnicity, social economic status, sexuality, religion. And we take our responsibility as role models for young New Zealanders very seriously.

"Maria chose to demonstrate her support for her husband and his beliefs and this is not a matter for Netball New Zealand to comment on."

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