In the latest The Wright Call, NSW Swifts Assistant Coach Rob Wright takes a look at the recently completed Test Series from a different angle using video analysis, and what better time to do it then leading into the World Netball Series...

I’ve spoken about the use of video analysis and how much I enjoy it in a previous blog, but since the end of the Test Series against the Silver Ferns I’ve had some fun reliving those games and analysing them to the enth-degree.

Video analysis is quite a big process and requires a number of people to do it. From coding the entire game, analysing it and then applying our findings in a training and competition environment; it’s a lot of work. Thankfully, I have a great team of people to work with at the NSW Institute of Sport. Nat and Briana are brilliant performance analysts and their knowledge of the technical aspects of statistics and coding is exceptional and coupled with my ability to integrate it into training and competition environments makes a lot of what we do possible.

Whenever we talk about analysis and statistics, I think it’s important to keep in mind that every team, individual and organisation will analyse the data differently depending on what they actually want to look at and achieve.

This leads me to the first test against the Silver Ferns in Perth. It was an interesting game because I think the numbers actually show what an "up and down” game it was.

The first thing that really interested me was all the talk around the third and fourth quarters, which I understand, but no one has really spoken about the second quarter. New Zealand was outstanding in the first quarter to put on 18 goals and even though they won the second quarter there were three things that suggested to me that things were starting to change.

Firstly, their shot volume halved from 22 to 11, their turnovers slightly more than doubled and their time in possession dropped from 58% in the first quarter to 48% in the second quarter. They may still have won the second quarter 10-9, but Australia had five more shots on goal, so defensively the Ferns were still doing a good job, but from an attacking perspective the numbers show us that the game had really started to turn.

One of my favourite players to watch is Silver Ferns GA Maria Tutaia; her ability to shoot from anywhere in the circle and her mobility is excellent particularly for someone so tall. Throughout the 2011 ANZ Championship, Tutaia averaged about 14 centre pass receives per game. What was interesting was that in the first test she actually took 23 which is well above what she would normally do, and even more interesting is that she took nine in the third quarter. Now I’m not privy to the tactics of the Silver Ferns but it is certainly interesting when looking at the numbers and comparing them across other games she has played.

Speaking of the third quarter, or the “championship quarter”, as many refer to it. With 7:16 on the clock the Kiwis were shooting to go 11 up and missed that shot and then with 3.52 left they had the ball on the edge of the circle to get the lead back to 10 but they turned it over. This is where it got interesting because over the next nine minutes the Diamonds went from nine down to even, setting the scene for the final 10 minutes.

Full credit must go to the Ferns because they came through and won the match – they held tough. The match could have gone pear-shaped for them but they were able to re-group quite quickly and even though they went two down late in the match, they still came through to win.

Rob