Kiwi Clones Samoa Will Test Us:ellis
Sun Herald
Sunday November 11, 2007
AUSTRALIA might be hailed as favourites to win the netball world championship, but captain Liz Ellis says her side will not be taking it easy when they open their campaign against Samoa tonight.
After a four-year build-up, Australia will finally put their intense preparation into practice against sixth-ranked Samoa in the first of their pool matches at Trusts Stadium in Auckland. And while world No.2 Australia are expected to have an easy victory, Ellis warned that Samoa, with their "New Zealand feel", shouldn't be taken lightly. "They're going to be a tough opposition," Ellis said. "They're not the sort of game you want to open up on and expect for it all to happen for you. We'll have to work for whatever we get against them." Samoa are coached by a former Silver Fern and have two shooters who play in New Zealand's domestic competition. "I think they'll have a real New Zealand influence in their game. So it'll be great for us to play," Ellis said. Australia, with eight world championships since the inception in 1963, have dominated the Silver Ferns over the past year.Bookmakers have them favourites at $1.45 to take the crown from New Zealand. But playing in a country where netball is followed religiously and considered one of the most popular sports alongside cricket and rugby union, coach Norma Plummer is very wary of playing their trans-Tasman rivals on their home soil. Plummer said Australia would stick with their sharp, short-passing and fast-paced game, which has been the basis of their recent dominance. "That's the Australian way and we're not going to take that away," Plummer said. Plummer said she was confident her youthful team would not let nerves get the better of them, or be side-tracked by the attention in the netball-mad country, where they are more recognised than in Australia. "We just can't believe the way that every single person down the street knows who we are," Plummer said. "We're on a first-name basis with the world." Playing in pool B, Australia meet Samoa tonight, Trinidad and Tobago on Monday and Scotland on Tuesday before the quarter-finals start on Thursday.
© 2007 Sun Herald