#21 A new era............

With the World Cup Final more than two weeks ago now, a new dawn was ushered in with the naming of Jess Thirlby as the new Roses Coach (Great appointment in my opinion & to be honest i breathed a huge sigh of relief!) and now she has named her first Roses ‘squad’ for the new season.

25 players have been named in the new (or is it new?) P1 & P2 system with players like Rachel Dunn, unable to commit to a full time programme, still eligible under the P3 option! Yes, I know, where are all these new terms coming from and is there a glossary / code / explanation given?!

Now, the England Netball Media team (note they normally have expensive outside help too) would have been working overtime of late ( yesterday we also had the news the CEO Jo Adams is leaving in the Autumn. I’m going to park that one!) but it’s just beyond ridiculous they casually include Kate Shimmin’s name without a thought to the readership!

I watch Suncorp Super Netball regularly so I’m familiar with Kate Shimmin’s offerings for Adelaide Thunderbirds but even I had to go and do some research to make sure there wasn’t a young Rose with the same name who’s slipped under the radar!

It was down to the very savvy Denise Evans from the BBC to give more of an explanation and she even had to chase EN for more details! I really would like to buy you a large glass of wine and shake you rigorously by the hand, Denise, if you ever read this. I’m a big admirer of your work!

For me, I would have liked a bit more information too on Jade Clarke’s exclusion and also information on previous Roses such as Sasha and Kadeen Corbin. Perhaps it’s the short term effect of the World Cup that we just WANT MORE, or is it the openness & accessibility of such players on podcasts and social media that we now expect more information? Either way, I do feel a bit short changed!

Surprisingly, for me at least, is the lack of retirement announcements after the World Cup. Not just from the Roses but from other national sides too. Perhaps with such big coaching changes coming (Norma Plummer’s replacement still not been announced) or perceived changes (Jamaica’s review still to take place) players’ are hedging their bets for the short term.

I am DELIGHTED that Geva Mentor has been named as one of the 25. It has been at the back of my mind for a while now that England do not have an obvious replacement for her. Comparatively you can see Cobden and Panagarry forming an orderly queue behind Clarke and even George Fisher will be waiting patiently in the wings ( for a while I hope - no offence!) for the retirement of Harten.

There are a few defenders up and coming but not ‘one’ to really follow in the very big footsteps of Geva Mentor. Sam Cook was in inspiring form at the back end of last Vitality Superleague season but I seem to remember her commenting ‘Roses isn’t for everyone’ in a post match interview when asked about any potential national  future Perhaps that’s where Shimmin comes in!?!

Apart from the ‘spine’ of the side staying a huge highlight for me is the inclusion of Yas Parsons in the 25. Yas is a local player, came up through the ranks of local clubs before joining elite side Weston Park Blades and Surrey Storm. She is an inspiration to many local youngsters, still gives her time to local netball and as anyone follows her on Instagram knows, has been working her absolute arse off for this opportunity! May we wish you the sincerest best of luck Yas! Great to have another local ‘baller gaining recognition they deserve!

#20 Reflections

The World Cup is a distant memory. It was AMAZING! I’ve had lots of random thoughts before, during and after - not all of them make a heap of sense, some are problems I don’t have solutions to and some are just observations and talking points. If I don’t write them down though I may go crazy so here goes......

🏐 Surely with many of the top teams professional or semi professional they deserve more than amateur umpires. I don’t think any umpire did a bad job and it’s the players’ job to adapt if they are being pulled for infringements. However, a professional umpire will have more time to dedicate to the game and surely be ‘better’ than an amateur one.

🏐 I’ve only just caught up on the Sport Relief game - what a hoot! It had everything, a new successful shooting technique from Jennifer Saunders (you have to see it to believe it!) , awesome deadpan comedy from Coach Tamsin Greenway & sensational play from Oti Mabuse (Sign her up!) My favourite moment was a last quarter appearance from the most capped player of all time Irene Van Dyke and based on that I still think a ‘Legends’ game would have proven popular! What was Pamela Cookey & Sharni Layton  doing in the commentary box !?!  - i’d have  paid top dollar to see them two battle it out!

🏐 Fossils! This is the term given by World Cup winning Coach Noelene Tuarua for her ‘spine’ of  Silver Ferns players,  all of whom are over 30 years old. If you look at some of the other teams though you will see it may well have been the netball ‘year of  the fossils’! England’s defensive duo of Geva Mentor and Eboni Usoro-Brown, along with Rachel Dunn, are all in their mid thirties. Not forgetting Trinidad & Tobago’s Ronda John Hart who made Netball history with her 6th appearance at a netball World Cup. Whilst it is anticipated one of the 2019 legacies will be to inspire a new generation of Netballers, I reckon a large number of older generations may well be following the ‘fossils’ back onto  court!

🏐 Beware Australia! Read the above point again. Now consider that only two of the Diamonds squad are over 30. Captain Caitlyn Basset 31 & fellow shooter Caitlyn Thwaites 32. Australia started rebuilding after their one goal defeat to England at the Commonwealth Games. They have a year on the top teams in the new cycle and emerging  players like 24 year old  Sarah Klau already have a major tournament under their belt. They will be hurting and this all makes them VERY dangerous when the next major tournament comes up! (Only 3 years to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games!)

🏐 There are some in  Australia calling for an import CAP on players in the Suncorp Super Netball League. They believe imported players coming into the worlds best league is damaging the Aussie pathway and leading to the Diamonds ‘downfall’! I say look at the coaches before looking at the players! Noelene Taurua is Head Coach of the Sunshine Coach Lightning making match decisions week in and week out in the Australian domestic league. She also coached the whole of the Aussie attack who  lined  up against her NZ side in the final, during the 2018/2019 season! Tania Obst is the Adelaide Thunderbirds Head Coach but has been assisting Tracey Neville at the last two major tournaments where the Roses won gold and bronze respectively.

🏐 Would an available Stacey Francis have resulted in a different colour medal for 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🌹? It’s not something we’ll ever have the answer to but I think Layla’s injury hurt our challenge and Tracey Neville has eluded to that in post tournament interviews. Will we ever see Francis in a red dress again?

🏐 Something else to ponder, would England have been better off with a Serena Guthrie playing against Laura Langman’s in the lead up to the World Cup, rather than Mikki Austin’s? (No disrespect intended at all - hopefully you get my point?)

🏐 What will become Jamaica? Many ‘experts’ tipped Jamaica to be the dark horses and cause an upset at this World Cup! (I also predicted the same however I am far from expert lol!) Commentators all agree that they have the players they just need someone or something to bring them altogether. Jamaica Netball always seem to keep its cards close to its chest but if the newspaper reports are to be believed aspect another change of coach for the Sunshine Girls, sooner rather than later!

#19 Top Ten moments

1. ‘We want Dunn!’ It wasn’t just that the whole arena was in chorus - it was her utter disbelief & humble reaction, that got me. We won’t see her like on an international netball court again
2. Being stopped & asked if I’m ‘Debbie, who writes the Netball blog’?! World Cup made. 
3. #NDCClove meeting up with some of my former colleagues was awesome. Made me appreciate the amazing time we had and the awesome results we achieved, just a little bit more! Shame I didn’t see more of them.
4. Claire Balding’s closing speech was as awesome as it was inspirational. What a women: what a netball advocate! 
5. Jo Harten’s quick turn & long bomb with 0.5 seconds left of quarter 1 v South Africa. Sublime. I think every Roses fan in the arena knew it was going to be our day when that shot went in! 
6. Zimbabwe: the noise, the colour, the surprise package on a netball court. They were the team of the tournament and we were also staying in the same hotel! 4 teams from Africa  in the top 8 of the world: that’s global netball development! 
7. Pivoteers: the unsung heroes of the World Cup! They were everything they should have been and more. Thank you will never be enough! 
8. Pop up Prosecco bar at the arena. My type of event! Even better when they’re serving half pints of the stuff as they’d ran out of ‘proper’ glasses 😉My only disappointment was there was only 1! 
9. Netball family! Whether you were in the arena, piazza, fan park or around the city - you witnessed, on countless occasions old friends meeting up, reminiscing and sharing the World Cup excitement. Shout out to the #Neeks right here! 😘
10. England winning bronze. It wasn’t what we came for but as I have said on countless occasions there were 5 teams in with a shot of winning. We could have ended 5th. After the semi final I think bronze was a relief still to be celebrated. 

#18 How do I summarise that!?!

Wowsers.

To put into words the World Cup experience from a fans’ point of view is a daunting task and one I’m not sure my writing skills are up to!

The anticipation was palpable and on reflection the event had a lot to live up to: but live up to it, it most certainly did - and then some!

The Netball was everything it promised to be. From the surprise package and noise of Zimbabwe (they were in my hotel you know!)  to the hugely entertaining and exciting final and everything in between! We had ‘ohs’ ‘Ahhhss’ and ‘We want Dunn!’

OK, so it wasn’t the final England fans wanted or the majority of netball fans. There is now a question mark over whether the Netball world order really has changed and  I still can’t really bring myself to talk about the England v NZ Semi Final such is my heartbreak!

I said before the World Cup started though that one of five nations could win the coveted trophy - but equally one of five nations could also come 5th. England fans plight could be worse: we could be Jamaica!

The Pivoteers were just amazing - friendly, polite, helpful. Yes, everything they should be - but those 450 people gave up their time for free, paid for their own accommodation, food and drink. All for the love of the game. Everyone one of them outstanding and deserve a lot more appreciation than they probably got.

The atmosphere in the arena, the piazza, fan park and generally around the city was incredible. Everyone was talking about the netball - the locals, visitors, shop staff, pub staff, in hotels, in the town. Liverpool really does know how to welcome a global community!

At the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 Netballers could pretty much walk around the city unbothered - it was probably just me asking for selfies back then to the amusement of some! I witnessed England players wearing hats and pulling the hoodies up over their heads this time round - not that they weren’t polite and friendly when approached though!

My own fan girling (read blog #11) went through the roof! It started with Netball legend Irene Van Dyke and finished with the very lovely Katherine Merry and Pamela Cookey. I took a bit of a ‘coaches’ route through the fan girling - spotting Rob Wright and Sara Bayman. (Who may well have been the player laughing at me in Glasgow!)

There were a few thousand teary eyed women listening to Claire Balding’s closing speech. Yes Claire it really did matter and it will continue to matter. Rousing was not the word, her words, delivery and passion were perfect.

The one thing that could have made it ever so slightly better was if  Claire had conducted the post final interview with Maria Falou. (!) A very strange choice out of all the NZ players they could have asked, I feel. It very nearly went all a bit pear shaped too.

I feel that the netball family completely undone ourselves this time! There were flags, there was face paint, wigs & costumes, there were Mexican waves and a noise like you’ve never heard. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, countless times. Incredible feels.

So now there is a very Netball World Cup shaped hole to fill and I’m not sure it’s going to be done! We’ll try with some podcast catching up and getting up ridiculously early this weekend for Suncorp Super Netball! I’ve still got some photo sorting and uploading to do and probably some more blog writing!

It’s going  to take a while to get over, certainly, but the memories and legacy will continue.

#17 Finals day

England v South Africa

I’m sure regular readers appreciate my honesty: I had my head in my hands today after 2 mins contemplating whether to leave! I, of course didn’t, it was a momentary lapse and I always had faith!

Saying that,  I still don’t think we were completely on song. It was the game northern hemisphere netball fans never really wanted but we were where we were and had to get on with it!

 I was absolutely dreading another ‘Glasgow 2014’ where you may remember we lost out to Australia and New Zealand by just 1 goal each, we were completely dejected and couldn’t get past Jamaica in the bronze medal match. I drank two bottles of wine without a glass,  immediately after and still have the remnants of the hangover!

Thankfully we were a very different Roses today and thanks to the quite incredible Jade Clarke we eased past a very good South Africa team to take the bronze medals. (In some lights bronze looks gold you know! 😉)

It wasn’t what the crowd or the Roses came for but we roared them right through to the finishing whistle & the noise was deafening!

It quite emotional towards the final whistle, with chants of ‘we want Dunn’ preceding a clearly humble Rachel Dunn donning the GS bib for potentially her last match in in a red dress. I suspect she’s not the only one although no announcements have been made at the time of writing!

Australia v New Zealand

The final was an altogether different affair, goal for goal through most of it but it was the experience of the Kiwis that shone through.

It didn’t look that way at the start mind you when Maria Falou uncharacteristically fumbled the ball three times. Nerves perhaps, there was certainly no devine  intervention  no matter what she said in her post match interview!

New Zealand were led impeccably by Centre Laura Langman. A stalwart Kiwi who was banned for playing for her country because of the league she chose to play her netball in. That was until nearly a year ago when Noeline Taurua came in to coach NZ after their disastrous Commonwealth Games & has completely turned things around.

Taurua has done the impossible. There is no other way of describing it. All coaches, no matter what sport, will be ‘hats off’ tonight. What an incredible achievement.

You must also take your hat off to Casey Kopua, out of retirement & back in squad after a nasty knee injury & becoming a Mum with 9mins on the clock in a World Cup Final, she takes an interception a player half her age would be proud of. Pure class.

So, as we’ve seen so many times before the game went to the wire but this time it was NZ who take home the coveted World Cup trophy. Frankly, they have a HUGE thank you to Noelene Taurua for that. I am certain it wouldn’t have happened with out her.

#16 Semi Finals

Australia v South Africa

When SA found Potgeiter home alone under the post with 5mins left I really thought that would be the turning point & SA would realise their dreams! How wrong I was, but what an incredible achievement & display by South Africa.

The crowd was absolutely amazing in the arena for the morning session. I’ve never seen or heard anything like it at a netball match - a phenomenal sight & sound!

As predicted I can’t really take more than 10 steps without bumping into someone I know! That’s what’s so incredible about this Liverpool World Cup, the netball family! Even people you don’t know you get chatting to!

For me, personally, it’s been absolutely AWESOME to see so many back to Netballers in Liverpool! People who I coached at sessions back in the day, completely fell in love with playing & supporting it seems! Someone had joked I have my own #neek army: they may not be wrong!

England v New Zealand

And so we move to the afternoon where hopes were high, the buzz was all about Harten & Housby and New Zealand spoilt the party.

What more can be said than you can’t start like that against New Zealand and expect to win.

The surge when Nat Haythornthwaite came on & Harten and Housby swapped was immense & if I thought the crowd went wild in the morning it was nothing compared to just before half time! It sent shivers down my spine! Half time came too early for the Roses I think.

For me the most disappointing thing was England didn’t play well. I would have taken a loss better (ish!) had both teams been at their best - it would mean the best team won in the truest sense of the world. From  Harten missing her first shot to Pitman just being in the way England just weren’t at the races. There were nothing between the teams in the stats, so imagine what we could have beaten them by! All ‘what ifs’ now though.

That’s not to take anything away from NZ though - they did a job on us and their zonal marking absolutely rankled the Roses. Hats off to Noeline Tuarua & Coaches, they did their homework good!

So it’s the 3/4 place match tomorrow - not one we wanted but I suspect it will be a few Roses last games in the red dress, so we must put our disappointment aside and cheer them on for the bronze medals.

It may well be a high point as the next few years will be a tough roller coaster ride for Roses fans - although, in my experience, when is it not!

I tell you one thing. I refuse to lose to SA tomorrow!

#15 H2 Sublime!

We’re at the business end of the World Cup & South Africa were, unfortunately for them,  next to witness the masterclass that is Housby & Harten! There are not enough superlatives to describe this relationship: I struggle to remember a more dynamic duo on a netball court and I certainly believe, on the basis of this competition, there isn’t one to compare in world Netball right now.

There is no doubt that South Africa were nervous and their penalty hit rate did not help their cause. I suspect Norma Plummer won’t have a lot to do to motivate her squad for the semi finals though. It’s the first time since 1995 they’ve made it to the last 4 and there were certainly glimpses of fabulousness. They will want to right today’s wrongs.

Personally I would start with Sigi Burger at GS. She really didn’t do anything much wrong when she came on (Air shot would have been nerves!) and gave Geva Mentor something more to think about. Whether she plays in the semi final or not I predict she is going to be a netball superstar in years to come.

Back to the Roses though and again there were a few rough patches but we ground them out and saw it through the other side - you have to do that to be Champions. We got our bench on again - exposing the less experienced players incase something drastic happens in the next two game (Yes I am that confident) and got to rest those that needed it.

Captain Fantastic Serena Guthrie was even wrapped in cotton wool towards the end. Guthrie seems to have had a target on her back throughout this tournament, it is she bothered? Too busy enjoying herself by the looks of it!

And that may well be the key. You will be hard pressed to find  a more relaxed, confident  team at the World Cup - especially one that is competing for the top placings. Harten’s last second edge of circle goal in Q1, her no look pass to Housby under the post & Jade Clarke’s pin point bullet to Dunn from the centre third doesn’t come from a team with the world of expectations on their shoulders.

I’m back off up to Liverpool tomorrow & looking forward to seeing H2 and their team mates storming it against New Zealand. .