Australian coach Briony Akle insists Dame Noeline Taurua wants to coach the Silver Ferns again, despite being dramatically stood down.
Netball New Zealand dropped a bombshell two weeks ago when it announced that Taurua and her coaching cohort would not be involved in the series against South Africa.
It said discussions with Dame Noeline and the Silver Ferns management team concerning proposed changes to the high performance programme and environment had not been resolved.
That meant Akle, who was brought in as a specialist coach at the start of 2024 and long-time Silver Ferns assistant coach Deb Fuller, were also stood down.
Yvette McCausland-Durie answered the SOS to step in as interim coach for the series.
Akle told the No Dribble podcast the situation had not dented Taurua's desire to coach the Silver Ferns and she wanted to come back.
"Yeah absolutely, I think the core of Noels is about player-first… she's been behind the scenes, since Constellation Cup last year, she's been planning the next two years of what that looks like leading into a World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Con Cup [Constellation Cup] so she wants to get back out there.
"She wants to look forward and move on, she's all about that gut feel around a player and what that looks like with the Silver Ferns, she'll always put that Silver Fern first.
"So no matter what's gone on, I feel like once she is hopefully back in there that good things will come out of it. Out of challenging situations good things always do, you always learn something about everybody and I think that's the mantra that she takes in terms of 'bring on the feedback, lets work together'."
"And I think the netball world needs New Zealand to be amazing and great, so I think that's where she wants it to be moving forward."
Akle coaches in the Australian Super Netball competition for the New South Wales Swifts, where Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke plied her trade this year.
The Silver Ferns had a training camp in Sydney earlier this year, which included playing matches against the Swifts.
RNZ understands the issues in the Silver Ferns stem back to that camp in January.
Following the tour, two players approached the NZ Netball Players' Association on behalf of a larger group of up to seven players, who raised concerns about Taurua's leadership and communication style.
Players alleged the environment had become "psychologically unsafe", describing a culture in which some felt fearful of raising issues directly with the head coach.
The next big on-court challenge for the Silver Ferns is just three weeks away, with the Constellation Cup series against Australia starting on October 17.
The Netball New Zealand board said it was continuing to work to resolve the situation and Akle seemed optimistic the two parties could reconcile.
"Behind the scenes it's been going for a little while with Noeline Taurua and the Silver Ferns … I can't say a lot, but I think the good thing is Noels is super excited to be able to get back into that space of coaching."
Akle said navigating the rift in the Silver Ferns had been very challenging.
"Obviously the focus has been about Noels in the media and it is a big deal that the Dame has been stood down, but hopefully she'll be back in that space soon and she'll be back on deck."
Akle said she was not surprised the Silver Ferns came out firing in the first test on Sunday, beating South Africa by 26 goals.
The Ferns won the Taini Jamison Trophy after beating South Africa 70-58 in the second test in Napier on Wednesday night.
"They've been training hard behind the scenes, which is what it's about right being that professional athlete and knowing that you've got a job to do for your country, I think it was always going to bring them together."
Akle coaches in the toughest league in the world, and told No Dribble getting the balance between exacting high standards, while also looking after the players, was difficult.
"It's a fine line to say what that psychological safety is, what does that even mean? I don't know.
"In every environment… there is a level of fear going into a high performance team because you don't want to stuff up, you want to do your best every single time and there will be confrontation in terms of 'did you do your job?'.
"I can only speak from my perspective as a coach, there is that fine line between setting the record straight around how you should have played a game to the reality that they are human, they've got feelings.
"I feel like any high-performing team or coach will say there is tension all the time in a high performance team."
The final test against South Africa is in Invercargill on Sunday.
