The Silver Ferns are in their final camp before departing for Cape Town for the Netball World Cup and with just two weeks until their first game, they’re taking all necessary precautions.
Ameliaranne Ekenasio was spotted laid up at training in Auckland but the Silver Ferns captain said there’s no need for fans to panic.
“I guess it was just a bit of a session off for me,” she grinned.
“We are always very careful on how we manage people so I guess I'm just getting a bit of extra love today.”
The bit of extra rest and recovery appreciated after a tough camp in the Sunshine Coast which saw coach Dame Noeline Taurua looking over three trainings a day for five days.
Even Taurua – who had the Silver Ferns training at 3am prior to their Sunshine Coast camp – can appreciate that intensity can take a toll.
“Not that we went to [rest Ekenasio] but we had high loads there so just a bit of cobwebs coming out of there and we'll start to introduce her back in this afternoon.”
Someone who's familiar with managed minutes is defender Jane Watson.
The 33-year-old has been recovering from a stress reaction in her fibula but is now nearing full fitness.
“I'm still being managed a little bit just to get my load back up there so we don't cause any issues and so I’m available going into South Africa,” Watson said.
“It's going well and I’m enjoying my time on court.”
Time on court is what's most important currently with the Silver Ferns trialling new combinations ahead of the tournament, including Kelly Jury spending time in the wing defence bib.
It's something we've seen Taurua do previously, moving Katrina Rore out of the circle at the 2019 World Cup, and she sees the same potential impact with Jury.
“We've been working that as well and she's such a big target on the outside there and it just also gives us the options to work with Jane in the back,” she said.
“Expect her to be out there.”
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