Cook Islands national coach Mii Maui and her team of managers came under fire at the weekend after the Cook Islands bowed out of any gold medal winning chances.
The team comfortably beat Tokelau 63-31 on Saturday to win the bronze medal but it didn’t stop hardened supporters from speaking their minds about how the netball managers ran their campaign.
At the top of the list of disappointments for netball followers was the fact that the team’s two talented under 19 players Odile Pauka and Mariana Ngaputa were never played in the mini games tournament.
“Look at that! They didn’t win the gold medal because they played all the old bags!” said one disheartened mama.
Other fans were not so pleasant – even those that have followed netball for decades struggled to find anything positive to say about the team management.
“I would have loved the opportunity to play all the players but I wanted to play the best team,” said Maui after the Cooks win against Tokelau.
Another well known netball supporter commented that the team coach and management staff refused to take any advice from past netball players and coaches and fielded a losing team.
Through the mini games tournament, Maui tried several combinations.
Asked why she made numerous player changes in just one game, Maui said it was because she wanted her players to show what they could bring into the game to improve the overall team performances.
“I can’t think for them.”
Maui maintains that she picked her strongest seven players – supporters disagree.
For one, experienced goal attack Selina Napa played at wing attack in the first quarter against Tokelau and was replaced in the second quarter of the game by Latisha Maui who had an error ridden quarter.
Goal shooter and captain Angela Maoate, a specialist goal keeper, was the team’s second shooting option according to Maui.
“Curley George was our number one shooter and Angela was there to collect the rebounds,” said Maui.
Despite all the criticism, Maui maintains that she had her best team on court and especially during the Tokelau match.
“We played this game like we were playing for the gold medal,” said Maui.
She added that the players also let their emotions cloud their court sense.
“They took some time to settle and get the ball into the shooters.”
Maui acknowledges that the netball team should have won the gold medal as the team had a fantastic build up to the games. - Matariki Wilson: Cook Islands News