Sometimes you have to be patient.
New Zealand Netball, and its fans, have certainly learned that.
Australia had dominated the transtasman competition, winning eight of the nine ANZ Championship titles since its inception in 2008.
The cynics suggested that losing that level of competition and seeing many of the world's top players flock to Super Netball was going to make it tough for the Silver Ferns to compete at an international level.
Initially, it seemed those predictions were right. The Ferns struggled and the difference between the leagues seemed significant.
But New Zealand has come through it. The Silver Ferns now hold both the World Cup and Constellation Cup.
Coach Noeline Taurua said the rise of the domestic ANZ Premiership had been a big part of that.
‘‘I think the quality ... has improved over the years,'' she said.
‘‘I really believe that. I think when you've got something as new and shiny as the SSN [Super Netball] was then, sometimes it's also the perception it is better. That's probably what the messaging and communication that had come out was.
‘‘But I think we're evening out and both competitions are now quite solid.
‘‘Then we're starting to see the differences. I can only go on New Zealand now and how successful we've been in the Silver Ferns over the past 10 or 11 test matches.''
She said the ANZ Premiership had been important to the Silver Ferns’ growth and would continue to be.
Having so many New Zealanders, including young players, getting exposure to a high level had created a strong breeding ground.
That was in contrast to Australia, where Taurua herself had gone after the split and which has an unlimited import rule.
Taurua spent the 2016 season at the Southern Steel, following a break after a long stint with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic — where she won the title in 2012.
She joined the Sunshine Coast Lightning, one of three new Australian franchises, in 2017.
The move was to further her coaching, exposing herself to the styles of both Australia and
the countries the imports were coming from.
She enjoyed that aspect of it in her three years on the Sunshine Coast, but it did not come without a flip side for Australia.
‘‘The opposite of that for them is if you have a lot of imports, as they do in the SSN, to some degree it stifles the pathway.
‘‘That's not necessarily an area of concern, but an area they'll be aware of, especially from the Diamonds’ perspective.
‘‘Ensuring once again those pathways and the players coming through have a place to go.
‘‘It's the offset, not necessarily a negative, but it’s the offset of the strength of the SSN at the moment.''
Rule changes designed to increase entertainment value also had varying impacts.
The super shot, worth two points in the last five minutes of quarters, timeouts and rolling substitutions were all deviations from the international game.
‘‘It's interesting, the result of that.
‘‘Probably not to the same degree they thought it was, especially with the two-point shots. I suppose the wow factor, but also trying to create more shooters that can shoot from distance, the stats don't show that's the case.
‘‘And the offset from that decision is the international game doesn't play those rules. So how that's impacting on the Diamonds and the style and how they play is unsure.''
Taurua's preference was to keep the game as traditional as possible.
It was the game she liked, and versions such as Fast 5 could be used to implement different rules.
She was content with where it had left New Zealand as well.
While the Silver Ferns have lost plenty of experience — Maria Folau, Laura Langman, Casey Kopua and Katrina Rore — since the last World Cup, new players were coming through.
She said a group, which included the likes of Gina Crampton, Jane Watson and Ameliaranne Ekenasio, were stepping into that void.
There were also youngsters such as Tiana Metuarau and Jamie Hume taking strides to get there, having taken their chances in the ANZ Premiership.
The international game was different, primarily from a style point of view and the man-on-man defence the Australians played.
While New Zealanders did not have exposure to that on a weekly basis any more, the Australians did not get weekly doses of Kiwi netball.
‘‘I think now they're not exposed to our style that's definitely our competitive advantage.
‘‘Not only that it's how we have a point of difference with every athlete who takes the court, but also quite structured with strategy.
‘‘Not playing the Australians week in week out, they have no understanding how to train against it.''
Despite that, Taurua said teams had not automatically fallen back into the old New Zealand style.
The Central Pulse played a man-on defence and different types of zones were developing.
She felt many areas of growth in the future could happen off court. Financial growth and stability was key, as was increasing entertainment value for fans.
On court, she felt great strides had been made in consistency of play, but that could continue to improve, while she hoped the closeness of the competition would remain.
