Netball: Silver Ferns eyeing 'G2' summit

Anna Scarlett
Anna Scarlett
The Silver Ferns will be targeting "G2" when they leave Auckland for Singapore on Monday.

While the island nation is one of the world's key financial centres, the tag points not to a high-powered economic meeting, but a summit of a different sort.

The world netball championship begins the following weekend and this year's Silver Ferns want to be the first New Zealand side to do the double of claiming the sport's top two prizes in successive years.

After their victory over fierce rivals Australia in a triple overtime thriller in New Delhi last October to retain their Commonwealth Games crown, they now have the chance of Gold No 2.

"It's a different title, but it maybe rolls off the tongue a little bit better to have a world title," defender Anna Scarlett said.

"G2 is a focus -- be the first team to go back-to-back at the 'Comm' Games and the world champs. That's what we're aiming for."

With 53 caps, Scarlett is one of four survivors from New Zealand's last gold medal-winning effort at a world tournament.

Along with the shooter Irene van Dyk, midcourter Temepara George and fellow defender Leanna de Bruin, she was part of a campaign that went through the 2003 event in Jamaica undefeated.

Four years later, however, she was left bitter and disillusioned when she missed selection for the last world championship in Auckland and turned her attention to beach volleyball and the 2012 London Olympics.

Three years on the international circuit took their toll and she returned to netball last year.

"I experienced 2003 and winning was awesome and, yes, 2007 was a really hard year to miss out," she said.

"But I've only become a stronger athlete and player -- going away to do my beach thing and coming back -- so I'm very much looking forward to playing in another world champs for sure."

The Silver Ferns have three preliminary pool matches on successive days in Singapore, the first against Fiji on July 4.

They will also meet Wales and Trinidad and Tobago before the playoffs begin on July 8.

The odds are firmly on another clash between New Zealand and Australia, the defending champions, when the final is staged two days later.

The two sides tied a test series 1-1 this month to leave matters finely balanced ahead of the 16-nation tournament.

Scarlett said the Silver Ferns had talked about resisting the temptation to look too far ahead.

"It's easy for that to happen but it's something we've all addressed quite thoroughly," she said.

"We've done a lot of analysis on the likes of England, Jamaica and Australia, but now we park that and we go game by game."

Scarlett and her teammates know there is huge expectation from New Zealand fans to turn G2 into reality.

And if it does come down to another trans-Tasman battle in the final, they will be able to draw confidence from that titanic tussle in New Delhi.

"Comm Games last year was a great example of pressure to perform, especially in overtime," Scarlett said.

"To stay composed and come out with the win shows how much we've grown and our ability to absorb that pressure."

 

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