Silver Ferns goal defence Jane Watson turns the ball over against NZ Mens in 2020 / Photo credit: Michael Bradley
The Silver Ferns are set for an exciting showdown when they take on a New Zealand Men's Invitational team in a three-match Cadbury Netball Series next month.
Silver Ferns head coach Dame Noeline Taurua said the series was another opportunity to develop players across the board.
"With Commonwealth Games next year and then Netball World Cup in 2023 we need to keep growing both on and off-court. Match experience is crucial in building towards our upcoming international events, but also going forward beyond that."
Last year the men's team beat the world champion Silver Ferns and the game was watched by a record crowd of more than 2,500 fans in Palmerston North.
New Zealand Men's and Mixed Netball Association President Junior Tana said the upcoming series is an exciting opportunity.
"We always love these dual-gender clashes as they push our athletes to new extremes and add to the development of both sides, he says.
"Horekau he tīma i kō atu i Ngā Kaponga hei hoa whawhai mā mātou i Aotearoa nei hei whakapakari ake i ō mātou pukenga. [There's no more worthy opponents than the Silver Ferns in New Zealand to grow and develop our skills]."
The three-day series will see the Ferns go up against the men’s team on Sunday 10 October through Tuesday 12 October at Globox Arena, Claudelands in Hamilton.
Curtain raiser matches will also be played between NZA and the NZ Under 21 teams, giving the wider high-performance squads valuable experience on court.