Silver Ferns v Australia: The big questions facing Dame Noelene Taurua’s team

Silver Ferns Grace Nweke and Maddy Gordon celebrate after winning the Constellation Cup match against the Australian Diamonds on Sunday. Photo / Photosport

Suzanne McFadden for LockerRoom

Should the Silver Ferns go for the Diamonds’ jugular? Or should they bring in the Bomb Squad for the final stanza of the Constellation Cup? Netball greats tell Suzanne McFadden what the Ferns should do next in their shock revival.

After a torrid couple of years when the Silver Ferns reached their rock bottom, they’re back on top of the world – or at least looming over the world champion Diamonds.

It’s a turnaround as unexpected by their fans and their opposition as it is for the Ferns themselves – who three weeks ago were “super frustrated” and questioning each other over why they just couldn’t get it together out on court.

Yet now, Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio reckons she’s never played in a Silver Ferns team supercharged by so much confidence. She’d also never won three in a row against the Diamonds before Sunday’s unforgettable 18-goal trouncing of the Australians to take out the Constellation Cup for just the third time in 13 years.

Head coach Dame Noeline Taurua was elated watching her team play “beautiful, stunning netball”, winning with conviction – by more than 10 goals a match – and with a toughness that had been lacking in her side.

New Zealand coach Noeline Taurua and captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio celebrate after beating Australia. Photo / Photosport

And former Silver Ferns are relieved their team looks to finally be on track for success at next year’s Commonwealth Games and the 2027 Netball World Cup. While Taurua has settled on, and stuck to, a potent starting seven in this series, there’s work to do on building the next tier of Ferns pushing for a starting bib.

In the past two years, the Silver Ferns have had their worst finish, of fourth, at the World Cup, lost a series to England, before dropping another rung on the world rankings to No 3. Their record since the start of 2023 was average – won 13, lost 12, and drawn one – before heading into this Constellation Cup.

Losing the Taini Jamison Trophy to the visiting Roses three weeks ago forced the Ferns to have tough conversations on where they were letting each other down, Ekenasio admits. What “flicked the switch”?

“It’s how we’ve approached each other and how we’ve had each other’s backs. It’s real crazy, but it’s been the biggest shift for us,” she said after the game in Perth.

With one test remaining in Melbourne on Wednesday, will Taurua bring on “The Bomb Squad” – the players who’ve screamed from the Silver Ferns bench throughout this series? Or will the Ferns go all out for a clean sweep of the four Constellation Cup tests for the first time?

I spoke to three Silver Ferns greats about why the Silver Ferns finally found their mojo, what they’ll do without super shooter Grace Nweke, and what the team must do next to win the 2027 World Cup.

How did the Silver Ferns turn around a dire two years to beat the world champion Diamonds in three straight tests?

For Silver Ferns captain Tracey Fear, New Zealand’s 61-43 victory in Perth – their first win in Australia in five years – was the victory that gave her chills.

“To beat the Aussies on Australian soil by such a huge margin, that’s what really got me,” the 63-test defender says. “It’s been a torrid few years where we were making history for all the wrong reasons.

“Our attack were playing on top of each other and playing safe netball. In this series, we were attacking down court, sighting Grace [Nweke] and being confident to let the ball go; driving deep into the goal third, tempting the goal keep out. That expansive attacking play is beautiful to watch.”

New Zealand captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio finds space against the Australians. Photo / Photosport

Fear was also impressed with the willingness of the Ferns shooters to go to the post and shoot. “Very rarely did we see them playing it in and out to get closer,” she says. “Grace and Ameliaranne were like the Irene van Dyk/Maria Folau combo, playing havoc with the defenders’ heads, knowing they can’t leave the goal attack alone.

“Ekenasio is in great shape physically. She did a power of work in and out of the circle; she never let up.” Her 44 mostly long-range goals from 50 attempts made a significant difference to the Ferns attack.

It was obvious, too, why Taurua is a stickler for fitness, with many of her preferred starting seven playing all 180 minutes of the series so far.

“The last couple of years we haven’t seen the top line-up grind it out all game,” Fear says. “Our players weathered a physical beating in the first half of the Perth test, then we saw their determination, unity and patience to push through to the next level in the last two quarters. They’re no longer putting up with getting pushed around.

“They had that strength and fitness to annoy, distract and harass the Australians. The accumulative pressure paid off when they got their hands on more ball.”

Fear also enjoyed watching the Ferns take joy in their new-found “success and confidence” on court. “All their improvements have come together beautifully in this series and you can see the players grow in their confidence in each other.”

The New Zealand bench cheer during the Constellation Cup match against Australia in Perth. Photo / Photosport

Silver Ferns shooter Leonie Leaver believes the Taini Jamison Trophy loss to England turned out to be a good thing for the team.

“There were highs and lows in that series, and Noeline learned a lot from it. She made a lot of changes to the line-ups during that series, and there was media speculation around what she should and shouldn’t have done,” Leaver says.

“But by the time the Constellation Cup came around, she had picked her best seven and she stuck with them, and they played out of their skins.

“They all clicked together and got stronger as the series went on – by the third test, they were so confident in their own games and in each other, it didn’t matter they were playing on Australian soil.”

Nweke, who’s shot 144 goals at 94% accuracy, was the Ferns’ “gem”, but the rest of the team stepped up around her.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure about Kimiora Poi at wing attack or Kate Heffernan at wing defence before this series, but they both nailed their roles. So did Karin Burger at goal defence,” Leaver says.

Silver Ferns centurion defender Leana de Bruin has a lot to do with fellow South African-born defender Burger, who she says had been “unsure” of whether she’d be playing wing defence or goal defence for the Ferns.

“I think players were nervous about where they stood and their roles in the team. Now having that clarity has really helped them,” de Bruin says.

“Now they’re finally getting back to their old selves … I think they’d lost confidence and forgotten how to play with the tools they have.”

De Bruin has been impressed with the unity of the team in this series, including those on the bench, nicknamed by Taurua as The Bomb Squad. “They look like they genuinely had each other’s backs. I take my hat off to them – they were able to make a difference with their support of the seven on court.”

She’s impressed with the defensive style used by Burger and goal-keep Kelly Jackson: “grinding your player down, then looking for ball; they’re doing that really well now.”

And the new combination of centre Maddy Gordon, who missed much of the ANZ Premiership through injury, and Poi, getting used to playing at wing attack, is also working.

“They’ve finally learned how to feed Grace, and they were confidently biffing the ball in from everywhere,” she says. “And Grace only got stronger – a few years ago she would have been crushed by [Diamonds goal keep] Courtney Bruce, but now she stands up to her.” Indeed, questions were raised about the frustrated Diamonds’ defensive tactics to get under Nweke’s skin in their third loss on the trot.

How will Grace Nweke’s transfer to Australia’s Super Netball league affect the Ferns?

While Fear and de Bruin believe Nweke’s move to play for the NSW Swifts next season – ruling her out of the Silver Ferns in 2025 – will help grow her game, Leaver thinks it’s a big mistake.

“I think it’s the wrong move. Grace is our gem, and you need to keep your gems close,” she says.

“We should have encouraged her to move to another New Zealand franchise so other players are able to learn how to feed her and play with her. I think the Australian players will get used to playing with her every week, and figure her out.

“In the WNBA, you don’t see the Americans sending Caitlin Clark to play in the European basketball leagues. They pay her well and keep her in their competition. We should be putting Grace on a pedestal and building her up. Who are our kids going to aspire to now?”

Grace Nweke receives the ball under pressure from Courtney Bruce, of Australia. Photo / Photosport

Leaver also questioned whether the Australians are now paying for enticing so many international players into their league, particularly shooters, at the expense of developing their own players.

De Bruin, who spent two seasons playing for the Adelaide Thunderbirds, applauds 22-year-old Nweke for making the move.

“It takes guts to leave your family to play netball in another country,” she says. “I went over there to get better, and she’s said she wants to be the best shooter in the world. She’ll come up against some of the world’s best defenders, which will give her a really good gauge where she stands.

“As much as it breaks my heart to say it, she won’t get that same competition staying here.

“It also gives other players opportunities. We’ve already seen without Grace at a World Cup, when she got injured last year, we’re buggered. Amelia Walmsley had a great season, so she needs to grab this opportunity.”

Fear also sees the value in Nweke bringing home intel she’s gathered playing against international defenders and increasing her understanding of different strategies.

“She’s undoubtedly an important asset in the Ferns, and she gets better with every game she plays,” she says. “But I don’t agree with talk that the Ferns would be nothing without Grace. It’s just as much about the other players’ ability to bring the ball downcourt with skill and determination.”

Are the Silver Ferns on the right course to win the 2027 World Cup?

Now the Con Cup is returning to Netball NZ’s trophy cabinet after three years away, there’s a chance Taurua will give some of her bench players, like Walmsley and new Ferns Claire O’Brien and Parris Mason crucial court time against the world champions.

“Noeline is in the beautiful position of having won the series, she can now to start to really develop some versatility and variety in her team,” Fear says. “It’s still early days, but we need to develop more shooters and defenders before the World Cup.

“Walmsley has all the attributes to become a World Cup shooter, but she will need court time. I’m confident we have good depth across the midcourt.

“You probably need a top nine or 10 to change things up against different opposition. As Dame Lois Muir would always say: ‘You need an extensive bag of tricks in your back pocket to be able to change your game plan’.”

Amelia Walmsley at work in a Silver Ferns training session. Photo / Photosport

De Bruin wants to see the next tier of players challenging the starting seven for their bibs, and the Ferns focus on hitting new levels of fitness, as the rest of the world will get fitter, faster and stronger in the next three years.

But she believes we now have a mental advantage over the Diamonds. “The Australian style never really changes; what you see is what you get. And I think they will struggle to keep up with us,” she says.

“If we played against England now, the outcome would be completely different. But sometimes you have to lose to win.”

While there’s no talk of what shape New Zealand’s domestic competition will take in 2026, both Fear and Leaver agree taking franchise teams into Australia’s league wouldn’t be beneficial. Instead, a crossover between the top sides from the two nations played at the end of their seasons could be a solution, also involving under-21 and secondary school sides.

“Playing in Super Netball would be dangerous. We would get annihilated, and our players would feel terrible. We should stick to what we are doing now,” Leaver says.

“But we need to bring through the next level of players in a different way. The National Netball League should be for under-21 or under-23 players, so there’s a new pathway for our kids.”

This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.