Netball: Taurua to coach Southern Steel

Noeline Taurua
Noeline Taurua
The Southern Steel has found its new head coach.

Noeline Taurua has been given the position, which was vacated by Janine Southby when she was named head coach of the Silver Ferns last month. Taurua will start her new job today, and will commute between her home in Mt Maunganui and Invercargill and Dunedin.

She comes into the job with plenty of experience, having coached the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic for six years in the ANZ Championship and five years in the defunct National Bank Cup.

Taurua guided the Magic to the ANZ Championship title in 2012 and took them to the semifinals in each of her six years at the helm of the franchise.

After a year as Northern Mystics assistant coach last year, she could not turn down the opportunity to become a head coach again.

''It's really come out of the blue but opportunities like this don't come around too often,'' Taurua said in a statement.

Taurua, who was the Silver Ferns assistant coach in 2012, is looking forward to working with a youthful team.

''The players are young and they are talented, which is fantastic,'' she said.

''There were a few games last season where we only just lost against some real powerhouses, so the potential is definitely evident.

''It's now seeing what we can do to take it up another level in terms of consistent performances out on court.''

Southby, who beat Taurua for the Silver Ferns coaching gig, will assist with the transition period until Christmas.

Netball South chief executive Lana Winders said Southby had been compiling a handover document the past couple of weeks.

''She [Southby] is keen to work with our new head coach and is keen to make sure handover is as effective as possible,'' she said.

Winders was also relieved Taurua was available to start immediately.

She was prepared to go into the new year without a head coach, which would not have been ideal just a few months out from the start of the season.

''We're fortunate that Noeline has been able to free herself up quickly,'' she said.

''She's the only New Zealand coach to have won the ANZ Championship.

''We just know that she is going to bring another brand of coaching to the team, and I think that she will be able to pick up the great work Janine had done and take them to the next level.''

One of Taurua's first jobs will be to appoint an assistant coach.

Reinga Te Huia has been the franchise's assistant coach the past two years, and also coached the South under-23 team last year.

''Noeline is going to have a huge part to play in determining who our assistant coach is,'' Winders said.

''We want her to be working with someone she is comfortable and confident in, and actually it would be great to see that being Reinga. She is a highly accomplished coach in her own right, but we have got a bit of work to do over the next couple of days to work that out.''

Winders is still searching for a head coach for the South team in next year's national league, which will run in conjunction with the ANZ Championship.

She will start the interview process this week, and is set to travel to Dunedin from Invercargill to conduct at least one interview on Thursday.

 

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