Netball New Zealand prioritised experience in the selection of a coach-less Silver Ferns squad as they continue the process of finding a head coach.
Netball NZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie told media today she was confident of announcing a head coach or interim coach by September 10.
Asked specifically about Sunshine Coast Lightning coach Noeline Taurua, Whyllie said the candidates would remain confidential.
In the meantime, selectors fulfilled the mandate of Netball NZ by adding 242 caps of experience to the squad by picking Casey Kopua and Laura Langman.
“We’re really careful about how we did it (picked a squad before naming a coach),” Wyllie said.
“We’re in an unprecedented time for netball, it’s a time of transformation and so Netball NZ’s brief into our selectors was to ensure that we looked at breadth of experience across the court and within the group and we think we’ve achieved it with the group that’s been named.”
Wyllie said Langman had been given an exemption for selection by the Netball NZ board given she had not played in the 2018 ANZ Premiership.
Langman was returning to the squad refreshed after taking some time away from the game while the addition of a player of Kopua’s calibre was exciting, Wyllie said.
Langman last pulled on the black dress in 2016, and Kopua hasn't played for the Ferns since the year before that.
2018/19 SILVER FERNS SQUAD
Karin Burger – Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse
Gina Crampton – Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel
Aliyah Dunn – Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse
Ameliaranne Ekenasio – Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse
Temalisi Fakahokotau – Silvermoon Tactix
Maria Folau – SKYCITY Mystics
Katrina Grant – Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse
Kelly Jury – Waikato-BOP Magic
Casey Kopua – Waikato-BOP Magic
Laura Langman
Bailey Mes – SKYCITY Mystics
Te Paea Selby-Rickit – Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel
Sam Sinclair – Waikato-BOP Magic
Michaela Sokolich-Beatson – SKYCITY Mystics
Elisapeta Toeava – SKYCITY Mystics
Jane Watson – Silvermoon Tactix
Maia Wilson – Northern Stars
SILVER FERNS TEAM – NETBALL QUAD SERIES
Karin Burger
Gina Crampton
Aliyah Dunn
Ameliaranne Ekenasio
Temalisi Fakahokotau
Maria Folau
Katrina Grant
Laura Langman
Te Paea Selby-Rickit
Sam Sinclair
Elisapeta Toeava
Jane Watson
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