Gordon makes position clear

M‘‘Watching the 2019 World Cup and seeing the girls win, that was another aspect of it for me and I thought I wanted to be there one day. So this is definitely a dream come true.’’ Maddy Gordon

addy Gordon puts her selection into the Silver Ferns’ World Cup squad down to being able to stick to one position in the ANZ Premiership this season.

The 22-year-old, who also has the ability to play wing defence and wing attack, beat out some stiff competition to make it into Dame Noeline Taurua’s squad for the World Cup in South Africa, from July 28 to August 6.

Having missed out on the Silver Ferns squad for the Quad Series in Cape Town in January, Gordon would have been regarded as an outsider back then to make the World Cup.

However, focusing on one position during the premiership enabled Gordon to take her game to a new level. She joins Grace Nweke, Maia Wilson, Whitney Souness, Kate Heffernan and Kelly Jury as the other players in the squad who’ll be making their first appearance at a World Cup.

‘‘I loved the group we had at the Pulse under Yvette Mccausland-durie,’’ Gordon said. ‘‘I think we had a really good year, it was really cool to be able to play centre this year and stick to It, which helped me grow confidence in that role and play like I could.’’

Gordon made her debut for the Silver Ferns against Australia in March 2021. That achieved a lifetime’s ambition of representing New Zealand for her, but she says it will mean a lot to her to now go to a World Cup.

‘‘When I was a young girl playing netball my ultimate goal was to make the Silver Ferns,’’ she said.

‘‘Then watching the 2019 World Cup and seeing the girls win, that was another aspect of it for me and I thought I wanted to be there one day. So this is definitely a dream come true.’’

Peta Toeava, Mila ReueluBuchanan, Kimiora Poi, Sam Winders, and wing defence Michaela Sokolich-beatson were the other names in the midcourt mix for the last two spots to join Gina Crampton and Heffernan.

In the end, the selectors went with Gordon and Souness, with Reuelu-buchanan a travelling reserve and Gordon admits it was an anxious wait to find out if she’d made it in.

‘‘I had no clue, but I think all the midcourters this year had outstanding seasons and it could have gone to anyone,’’ she said.

‘‘I’m really grateful that I’m one of them, but big ups to everyone else who put their hands up, because they did a great job.’’

Although Gordon will be one of the least experienced players in the squad, she knows there are players in the team she’ll be able to lean on while in South Africa.

‘‘For me, it would be Kelly [Jury]. I’ve played with her for three years now and she’s become one of my good friends,’’ she said.

‘‘But even Ameliaranne [Ekenasio], I think we’ve grown a great connection and friendship from when she was at the Pulse.

‘‘There are definitely a couple I can rely on for support, which is cool.’’

This year’s ANZ Premiership, where the matches came thick and fast, featured plenty of dramatic finishes. For the Pulse, that started with their 53-52 win over the Magic and continued through to the 53-52 loss to the Stars in the elimination final and Gordon said it was those high pressure games that will stand her and the team in good stead in South Africa.

‘‘I think it was a good competition this year with the really close games,’’ she said.

‘‘It has set us all up pretty well to play in those tight games and to play under pressure.

‘‘We’re going to be heading into some tough training camps leading into it as well, so we’ll definitely be well prepared.’’

All season it has been referred to in shorthand as the midcourt puzzle. With the Silver Ferns shooting and defensive ends having a settled look about it over the past few seasons, the make-up of the Silver Ferns’ midcourt for next month’s Netball World Cup in South Africa, has been the most vexing question of the 2023 ANZ Premiership.

The permutations, and speculation, were endless. Even veteran midcourter Gina Crampton admitted to playing amateur selector at times during the season.

In the end, poor office architecture helped provide the answer to the mystery.

As media gathered at the Netball NZ headquarters ahead of yesterday’s team announcement, the lift doors opened to reveal Pulse midcourt dynamo Maddy Gordon lurking in one of the glass-walled offices.

And just like that, the picture had revealed itself.

Official confirmation of her place in the squad came 15 minutes later when Netball NZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie, with all the gravitas of a war-time prime minister, stood unflinching at the podium to read out the 12-strong lineup and three travelling reserves to a live TV audience.

Gordon was one of six Silver Ferns who will be appearing in their first World Cup, alongside Maia Wilson, Whitney Souness, Kelly Jury, Kate Heffernan and Grace Nweke.

Then there’s the old hands. Six players remain from the side that took out the 2019 World Cup final in Liverpool, although only three of those – Crampton, Jane

Watson, and Ameliaranne Ekenasio, who will captain the side, took the court in thrilling one-goal win over Australia.

But much of the early questioning focused on who wasn’t there – Mystics playmaker Peta Toeava, who has formed a lethal combination with Nweke over the past few seasons.

Taurua, in her upfront style, outlined the rationale for the decision with the same level of transparency as the walls of the Netball NZ meeting rooms.

Selecting a World Cup squad is very different to picking a side for a test series, she explained.

The demands of tournament play, in which teams are faced with a gruelling schedule of eight games in 10 days, means selectors need to apply a different set of criteria to their decision-making. Versatility, endurance and experience are key attributes.

‘‘World Cups are totally different. Because of the games being back-to-back-to-back and the hardest games coming at the end, you’ve got to be able to run. We’ve known from experience that if you can’t, it impacts on everyone else,’’ said Taurua.

Taurua was also clear that Gordon made it impossible for the selectors to leave out.

‘‘That’s a great position that she put herself into.’’