SILVER FERNS - Key Persons
On the back of an enviable record, the popular Noeline Taurua was installed as the 11th Silver Ferns coach in 2018 and wasted little time in leaving her mark.
Taurua was an assistant coach for the Silver Ferns in 2011 and was the only coach to lead a New Zealand side to an ANZ Championship title, having overseen the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic's win in 2012.
Melinda (Mel) Parnell was appointed Silver Ferns medical lead in April 2016.
Growing up on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, Mel moved to New Zealand to study medicine at the University of Otago in 2003. She has a PhD investigating the effects of exercise training on blood vessel function in patients with heart failure and a Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Medicine from both Otago and Auckland Universities.
She has worked with a variety of sports and events, and finds guiding athletes of all levels back to their chosen sport very rewarding.
Job Titles:
- Team Manager
- Team Manager / Silver Ferns Team Manager Esther Molloy Is Responsible for Organising and Managing the Entire Silver Ferns Squad
A skilled multi-tasker and avid Netball enthusiast, Esther has been the Silver Ferns team manager since 2009, making sure they are a tight-knit unit both on and off the court.
She works closely with the management team to ensure everything from a logistical and operational standpoint is organised to the highest degree.
Job Titles:
- Head of Communications and Marketing
Making the move to Wellington from Auckland in her first year out of school in 2018, the livewire Gordon quickly found her niche in the Capital where she has gone on to forge an impressive career. A super quick and skilful midcourter with a non-stop engine, Gordon's all-round credentials enable her to slip comfortably between all three central court positions.
Spending a full season at centre along with a growing maturity and improved game structure to compliment her court craft, the midcourt dynamo produced a compelling 2023 domestic season. Accurate and consistent with her ball skills, movement and feeding on attack, Gordon is equally reliable on defence through her relentless disruptive hunting and speed.
Elevated to the Silver Ferns squad in 2020-21, Gordon has had a fleeting career at international level, missing selection in the 2022 Silver Ferns Commonwealth Games and 2023 Quad Series teams but in lifting her standards to new heights warranted a recall for Netball World Cup 2023.