Winning across the Tasman is never easy but New Zealand's top school netballers have shown how to do it.� Beating the School Sport Australia team, twice, in this month's Trans-Tasman Secondary Schools Netball Tournament could mark the start of a long career in the black dress for a number of players in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team.

Coach Helene Wilson believes the real drive for Silver Ferns status starts at that secondary school level.

"It's definitely the first step in the pathway for them to Silver Ferns," she says.� "It's incredibly important for them as it's their first exposure to high performance sport and being in an elite performance environment."

It is where talented schoolgirls get their first real taste of what is required on the training court and what is expected from them as a squad member.� �The New Zealand Secondary Schools team beat their Australian counterparts 35-31 in pool play before dominating the final in Adelaide earlier this month.� �New Zealand won the final 38-25 and for Wilson it was a dream end to a four-year stint with the national secondary schools team.� She has been assistant coach for two years and the last two years stepped up as head coach.� They lost the final last year so to turn the table with a new-look side was satisfying for Wilson and the management team.

New Zealand Secondary Schools team 2012:� Stephanie Collins (Botany Downs Secondary School), Alice Eddington (Craighead Diocesan School), Temalisi Fakahokatau (Westlake Girls' High School), Holly Fowler (Mt Albert Grammar School), Malia Paseka (Auckland Girls' Grammar School), Jamie-Lee Price (Mt Albert Grammar), Rebekah Roache (Mt Albert Grammar), Fa'amu Ross (Avondale College), Samantha Sinclair (John Paul College), Shaani Temata Frost (Tu Toa), Elisapeta Toeava (McAuley High School), Te Aomihia Watene (Hamilton Girls' High School).� Coach:� Helene Wilson.� Assistant coach:� Marianne Delaney.� Manager:� Clare Malthus.� Physiotherapist:� Helene Barron.

Trans-Tasman Secondary Schools Tournament in Adelaide from May 28-June 1:� versus Samoa 66-4, versus Pacific Rim 38-13, versus School Sport Australia 35-31, versus Pacifika 46-12, versus Indigenous School Sport Australia 51-5, (semi-final) versus Bukit Jalil Sports School (Malaysia) 35-19, (final) versus School Sport Australia 38-25.