By Dave Gooselink
Auckland-born Noeline Taurua has been relishing her time in the deep south of the country this season, as coach of the resurgent Southern Steel netball franchise.
The team's success in 2016 has been double reward for Taurua, who moved south after being overlooked for the Silver Ferns coaching job last year.
It was a major snub that initially hit her hard. Netball NZ didn't even put the former Championship-winning coach on their shortlist for the top job.
But Taurua says the close netball family atmosphere at the Steel has helped reignite her passion for the game.
"I think the first time that I came down here, I actually felt the love quite a lot", says Taurua. "They welcomed me - not only the girls, but also the community - with open arms.
The charming and chilled-out coach isn't one to bear grudges, and is philosophical about what she calls "ancient history".
"Things happen for a reason. I believe why I'm down here has really consolidated my own thinking about coaching and what it is for me, and I'm very grateful for that".
With the ANZ Championship now into its ninth (and final) season, Taurua remains the only New Zealand coach to lead a team to the trans-Tasman league final, with the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic in 2012.
Now she has a chance to make that a double, with the Southern Steel on a roll after recording an unbeaten regular season. The Steel are hot favourites to take the NZ Championship Final this Sunday in Invercargill, before the challenge of meeting the top Australian teams.
But Taurua isn't getting ahead of herself just yet.
"We're capable of ticking that box, but we've got to take it one week at a time", she says. "It's fantastic to be able to win a grand final and the feeling that you get with that is just amazing. But we're very level-headed about respecting the opposition and what they bring."
But outside of the final weeks of the ANZ Champs, franchises are already preparing for life after the trans-Tasman league, with Australia and New Zealand returning to individual domestic competitions in 2017.
Taurua admits she has been approached from other teams around New Zealand, as well as offers from Australia and England. But she insists she hasn't yet finalised her plans for next year, with a more immediate goal to focus on.
"At the moment I'm with Southern Steel and enjoying the ride. And I'm not at this stage looking at anything further. I really just want to finish this season off well, and honestly to win the cup. And that's what it's all about."
And while Taurua is far too polite to mention it, reclaiming the trans-Tasman trophy with her newly-adopted southern mates would send a strong message to Netball NZ that would be very difficult to ignore.
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