NS PREVIEW – Taini Jamison Series: Silver Ferns v Roses

The England Roses arrive to New Zealand with 1 win + 2 losses in the recent series against Australia. Can they claim the Taini Jamison trophy off the Silver Ferns?

Contributors: Tobey Keddy, Nicole Mudgway & Sophie Acklin

Images: Graeme Laughton-Mutu, May Bailey & Danny Dalton

Matches

1st Test – Trusts Arena (Auckland/Tāmaki-Makaurau)

Sun, Sep 29, 7:30pm local time, 8:30am GMT

2nd Test – Te Rauparaha Arena (Wellington/Te Whanganui-A-Tara)

Wed , Oct 2, 7:30pm local time, 8:30am GMT

3rd Test – ILT Stadium Southland (Invercargill/Waihopai)

Sun, Oct 6, 7:30pm local time, 8:30am GMT

Teams

Silver Ferns

Karin Burger

Ameliaranne Ekenasio

Maddy Gordon

Kate Heffernan

Kelly Jackson

Parris Mason

Erena Mikaere

Grace Nweke

Claire O’Brien

Kimiora Poi

Whitney Souness

Amelia Walmsley

Maia Wilson

Roses

Imogen Allison

Amy Carter

Beth Cobden

Funmi Fadoju

Alice Harvey

Helen Housby

Hannah Joseph

Berri Neil

Lois Pearson

Razia Quashie

Ellie Rattu

Jessica Shaw

Live Tchine

Francesca Williams

New Zealand Silver Ferns

After two years of ups and downs, the Silver Ferns will look to bring consistency to their international game. 2023’s success included defeating Australia in two consecutive tests on home soil. However, the Ferns also suffered their worst outing at the Netball World Cup, coming in fourth place and losing a test at home to a very inexperienced English side.

This series with the Roses will be crucial for the Ferns to assert dominance over their English rivals and to build a strong foundation heading into the Constellation Cup.

One player who will be crucial for the Fern’s success is Grace Nweke. The newly-signed NSW Swift has been touted as one of the best players in the World with her athleticism to jump for the ball, strong hold, and shooting accuracy are second to none. As the high-volume shooter for the Ferns Nweke will be relied upon in this series to help aid the somewhat untested attacking connections by being an easy option to feed.

This series provides a massive opportunity to the five selected for the midcourt. Maddy Gordon and Kate Heffernan have had two consistently good international seasons, pairing nicely in the Centre and Wing Defence positions. However, this series will provide the other three players an excellent opportunity to make their mark in the Wing Attack position. Whitney Souness, Kimiora Poi and debutant Claire O’Brien all had strong domestic seasons in 2024. However, Poi and Souness have struggled to cement themselves on the international stage, so the position is for anyone to take with two hands.

The Fern’s Wing Attack needs strong connections with the expected shooting duo of Nweke and Ekenasio, which may give debutant O’Brien the unexpected edge. Playing with Nweke during the 2021-2023 ANZ Premiership seasons and linking with Ekenasio at the Magic for the 2024 season, she is the only player to have played with both domestically. Her strengths rely on her calmness on the court and reading the play accurately for easy ball supply. Highlighted throughout the season by Coach Noeline Taurua as someone she is keeping her eye on, let’s hope she debuts in this series.

In a late announcement, the Silver Ferns have confirmed the unfortunate withdrawal of defender Phoenix Karaka due to illness. Her absence is a significant loss, with 67 international caps and 149 domestic appearances to her name. Phoenix is the second-highest capped Silver Fern selected for this series, trailing only Ameliaranne with 70 caps. As the longest-serving current player, having debuted in January 2014, her experience will be missed.

Despite this setback, we welcome the return of the dynamic and charismatic Erena, affectionately known as ‘Auntie E.’ After making her debut for the Silver Ferns in 2019, she is finally set to reach her second international cap. Although she has been absent from the world stage, Erena has competed at the highest domestic levels (ANZC, SSN & ANZP) since 2010. At 36 years old, she has aged like a fine wine, with 2024 marking the pinnacle of her career. She stands as the second-most capped domestic player in the squad, with 131 caps, just behind Maia Wilson’s 137. What Erena may lack in international outings, she more than makes up for in stature, standing tall at 192cm alongside Kelly Jackson and Amelia Walmsley, just 1cm shy of Grace Nweke.

Challenges

When Nweke got injured during the 2023 Netball World Cup, the Ferns went on a 5-match losing streak and went 2 (wins)-1 (draw)-6 (losses) without her consistent presence on the court. The Silver Ferns attacking end needs to step up during this series, especially with Nweke not eligible for selection in 2025.

Nweke’s ineligibility raises a couple of questions about the progression of the Ferns. Will Captain Amelieranne Ekenasio be available for the entire cycle? If not, perhaps this is the series to start transitioning Maia Wilson or Amelia Walmsley into the Goal Attack position. These two players have primarily played Goal Shooter but have seen glimpses in Goal Attack this year for their respective domestic teams, the Northern Stars and the Central Pulse. It would be a baptism by fire, but they have the chance to play and be supported by Nweke, so connections can be built now. However, if Ekenasio is available this entire cycle, the Ferns will want to solidify the Nweke-Ekenasio combination in advance of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The Ferns have had significantly inconsistent performances and connections in the midcourt and defensive ends. It seems that all seven players on the court struggle to click at the same time. We have seen glimpses of brilliance from Kelly Jackson and Maddy Gordon during the 2023 Constellation Cup.

The defensive end must showcase their dominance over a depleted English shooting end. Eleanor Cardwell will not feature due to injury, so this is a chance to shut down Helen Housby, who will pair with an internationally inexperienced shooting trio of Liv Tchine, Lois Pearson and Berri Neil. In last year’s Taini Jamison series, the English shooting end got the better of our defensive end.

Kelly Jackson will again have her work cut our for her against the Roses shooters. Image – Danny Dalton | TahDah Sports

However, the development of Kelly Jackson and Karin Burger during the domestic season and the tenaciousness of debutant Parris Mason should provide a significant challenge to the Roses. A late injury replacement has been made with Phoenix Karaka dropping out and the experience of Erena Mikaere getting the call up.

England Roses

After the media firestorm that was created due to the English Roses allegedly bringing a “B-team” to New Zealand shores, the Roses have made their point by bringing their best 12 down under. Bringing 5 players from last year’s series + the experience of Helen Housby, Imogen Allison, and Fran Williams, this team will not be one to mess with.

The Roses are scattered with big-time players throughout their twelve. You can not go past Helen Housby, who has been a significant feature of the Roses since making her debut in 2014. Despite a mediocre 2024 SSN season (at least by Housby’s usual standards), her silky skills, accuracy at the post and dedication to English netball have been awarded heavily over the last couple of years. She was named player of the tournament and best shooter at the 2023 Netball World Cup, she was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for her service to Netball and has recently completed 100 test caps for the Roses. She will bring strong leadership to her young shooting end, crucial to their success.

The midcourt is, on paper, their most consistent third of the court. The newly appointed captain and new SSN recruit, Imogen Allison, will lead the wealth of talent, consisting of Beth Cobden, Hannah Joseph, and Amy Carter, to hopeful success. Allison will have huge shoes to fill with the retirements of Jade Clarke and Laura Malcolm in quick succession but underestimate her ability at your own peril.

Lois Pearson had a strong debut series against the Diamonds.Image – May Bailey | Clusterpix Photo

Some highlights of their first test performance against Australia were the inclusion of Lois Pearson in Goal Attack and Wing Attack, Helen Housby’s leadership and the strength of Liv Tchine coming on to replace starter Eleanor Cardwell.

Challenges

While on paper this is a much better English than what was sent to New Zealand last year, the connections still have a long way to go, as seen in the first test of their series against the Australian Diamonds.

Their defence struggled against the moving circle of Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin. They seemed a step behind, resulting in a combined effort of one intercept, one defensive rebound and six gains across the game. Usual high



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