Magic coach Noeline Taurua cuts couple loose

Noeline Taurua is known for her wacky and wild coaching ideas and 2010 appears to be no different for the Waikato-Bay of Plenty netball coach.

She's flinging two of her 12-player squad back to the provinces for the first five weeks of the ANZ Championship and is contemplating having as many as five captains.

From the opening year of the trans-Tasman competition, Taurua has said a squad of 12 was too big and her actions matched that view with some players getting very limited court time in the first two seasons of the competition.

When the Magic start their 2010 campaign in Melbourne on March 22, they will have only 10 of their players with Eli Shadrock and Amy Christophers being released to play for their Lois Muir Challenge provincial teams.

Shadrock will play for Waikato while Christophers will turn out for Bay of Plenty.

"It will benefit the team and the individuals," Taurua said.

Shadrock and Christophers would train with the Magic until the season starts them train only with their Lois Muir teams.

"We identified that we need players to be playing so they can progress and develop.

"It's win-win for the region too, because they get a player who has been training for months and can hopefully add to their team."

On the captaincy front, Taurua this week said she had yet to make her mind up, but had "a number of options".

Her preferred choice appears to be another joint captaincy, but she said there was an option of one skipper or rotating the five players she shortlisted.

Laura Langman and Casey Williams are in the mix – both have captained the national side. Last year's co-captain Irene van Dyk is an option, as are Australian import Peta Scholz and new recruit Jodi Brown.

"There are a lot of options. I want someone who is a professional on and off the court. They need to be a contributor and be able to motivate the other players to do better too."

Taurua said Langman's limited experience as captain of the Silver Ferns, and Williams' whole season in the same job wouldn't impact on her decision because those players understood that this was a different campaign with different needs.

It is understood Scholz has already impressed not just Taurua, but her team-mates as well and is high on Taurua's list.

Taurua said she expected to make a decision late this week, but said there was no rush.

The Waikato Times' prediction is for the former Silver Fern goal attack to name Scholz and van Dyk in a joint role.

- © Fairfax NZ News