Ferns must nail down Taurua contract
Netball New Zealand boss Jennie Wyllie’s greatest legacy might be getting Noeline Taurua’s scrawl on a piece of paper again.
Wyllie has done it once before working with the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Australia, where Taurua coaches, to ensure she could continue in that role while also guiding the Silver Ferns.
The predicament for NNZ is Taurua’s contract with the Ferns ends in less than a week when the 2019 Netball World Cup draws to a close.
NNZ must do whatever it takes to keep Taurua with the Ferns and offer her a four-year deal through to the 2023 World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. If that means bending the rules and allowing the best Ferns to compete in Australia’s Super Netball competition to keep Taurua happy, then so be it.
Taurua will return to the Sunshine Coast for the second half of the Super Netball season, where she and Ferns skipper Laura Langman will look to steer the Lightning to a third title.
Her three-year contract with the Lightning ends this season, leaving Taurua with plenty to contemplate as she strolls along the beach in Sippy Downs.
Taurua told in May she would take time out after the Super Netball season to assess what she wanted do in 2020.
With Super Netball starting later this year due to the World Cup, the stars aligned in 2019, allowing Taurua to juggle the Lightning and Ferns.
It’s unlikely she’d be able to carry out both jobs in the future, meaning Taurua is going to have to decide between club and country, should she aspire to remain in elite coaching.
She took over as Ferns coach from Janine Southby in late August with the side at their lowest ebb following a shambolic Commonwealth Games showing, where they finished fourth and failed to medal for the first time. It continued a dire run of results and talk of dissension in the ranks.
Restoring the Ferns’ lustre was never going to be a quick fix.
The Ferns aren’t on the level of World Cup title favourites Australia or England just yet, but they look a much happier and cohesive bunch and seem to be tracking in the right direction.
Taurua’s appointment was influential in getting Ferns legends Langman and Casey Kopua back in the black dress after breaks from the national squad. She recognised the strength and conditioning standards within New Zealand netball weren’t up to scratch and has attempted to raise the bar, bringing in minimal requirements.
The Ferns’ fitness has shone through in their early World Cup games, where they look among the most conditioned teams at the tournament. If they crash out in
the semifinals and are forced to play in the third and fourth playoff, no-one can say they faded because they weren’t fit enough.
Taurua hasn’t been involved with the Ferns for even a year. What we are seeing from the team under her watchful eye is merely the tip of the iceberg.
If NNZ fail to retain Taurua, much of the hard work and progress over the past 11 months will be dashed.
With Kopua retiring after the World Cup and Folau and possibly Langman finishing up at international level too, the Ferns could lose over 400 tests of experience.
New Zealand netball needs a safe pair of hands to mentor the Ferns as they potentially start a new era without the ‘big three’. Taurua is that person.
Domestic coaches Reinga Bloxham, Kiri Wills, and Marianne Delaney-hoshek have all had a taste of the Silver Ferns or New Zealand A during Taurua’s tenure. The trio are all talented coaches with bright futures.
They would be the first to admit they’re not ready to take on the Ferns. They could one day end up as national coaches, but not now.
While it would be great to see the Ferns lift the World Cup title in Liverpool, it’s probably unrealistic given Taurua’s limited time with the squad.
If Wyllie could lock her into a four-year contract through to the next World Cup it would be a massive boon.
We’ve seen what Taurua can do in 11 months. Imagine four years.
Silver Ferns, 2023 world champions? Taurua has been a winner everywhere she’s gone. You wouldn’t bet against it.