New Zealand Netball team get down to business ahead of opening match

The New Zealand Netball team’s opening two matches of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games have quickly become the primary focus following the team’s arrival in Australia on Friday.

Now settled into the athletes’ village, the New Zealand Netballers will open their campaign against Uganda on Thursday (April 5) followed closely by Wales the next day.

``We’re aware that the teams we play in the first couple of days have got nothing to lose and that they’re teams on the improve,’’ New Zealand coach Janine Southby said.

``So, that’s our big focus for the next few days, just making sure it’s one day at a time, one game at a time. That is a real cliché in sport but we just can’t afford to get ahead of ourselves and we can’t afford to take these teams lightly.

``It’s about making sure that every play we have and every second we’re out there, we’re doing our jobs and doing the best that we possibly can.’’

There’s an acknowledgement in the camp of the need to raise the performance levels after a disappointing start to the year but the coach is backing her team to turn things around.

``We’re not happy with the results we’ve had but we’re pleased with the progress we’ve been making on some key work-ons off the court and they’re starting to come on the court,’’ Southby said.

``We know we haven’t been good enough but we still absolutely believe and back ourselves. From the most experience down to the least experienced, everyone knows that they’ve got a job to do and they’ve got to do it a whole lot better.

``We’re approaching this event as we were always going to approach it and that’s with that total belief that we’ve got a job to do here, we’re coming to do it and we’re ready to do it. We appreciate that there’s a lot of frustration on the outside but from our point of view we’re doing everything we can on the inside and there’s absolute ownership.

``There is an absolute determination to right the wrongs and to learn from our toughest series over the last couple of months.’’

With the improving standards at the top of world netball, the 2018 Commonwealth Games shape as the most competitive since the sport was added to the programme in 1998.

Of the New Zealand team, only Maria Folau, Katrina Grant, Grace Kara and Shannon Francois have previously played in a Commonwealth Games.

Netball tournament:

Pool A: Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, Barbados, Fiji, Northern Ireland.

Pool B: New Zealand, England, Malawi, Wales, Scotland, Uganda.