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Casey Williams goes up high against Australia - Source: Photosport
The Silver Ferns had enjoyed some good performances over the last 12 months but also flattered to deceive on many other occasions and barely earned a pass mark for 2009.
They failed to win a series, going down to the World Seven and Australia while squaring the ledger against Jamaica.
The Ferns did regain some pride by winning the World Netball series at the end of the year in England, the event that features new rules and a speedier format.
Overall a five-win six-loss record is a mediocre effort for a nation entrenched in the top two in the world and coach Ruth Aitken is fortunate that the microscope is not applied to her job in the same way as Graham Henry's often is.
The international season began in June with the arrival of the World Seven, a combination team made up of Australians just ouside the national squad as well as players from England, Jamaica and the Pacific Series.
The three match series was meant to be a chance for the home side to fine tune their play ahead of the Australian series in July.
Instead it turned into seven days of soul searching - culminating in new captain Casey Williams famously admitting she was "pissed off" by the emphatic losses in the first two matches .
The Ferns regained some pride with a win in the last game but the manner of their performances heaped pressure on coach Ruth Aitken.
Her squad responded with a first up win against Australia before slumping to consecutive narrow losses to the Diamonds in Melbourne and Brisbane.
A one goal defeat in Invercargill a week later saw Australia seal the series and while the Ferns took the final match in Hamilton emphatically it was barely a consolation.
The inaugural World Netball series, which was sold as the Twenty20 version of the sport with new rules featuring two point shots for goal, power plays and rolling substitutions was held in England in October.
Maria Tutiaia become the go-to player for New Zealand with her two point shooting was Simone Forbes of Jamaica was another who landed some great bombs from outside the circle.
The powerplay innovation, where all points were doubled within one particular quarter, was often negated as both sides in a match would choose the same period.
England seemed to embrace fully the spirit of the new rules in the best way while traditional heavyweights Australia and New Zealand tended to play in their orthodox ways.
The Ferns finished third after round robin pool play but trumped the top seeded Australians 27-17 in the semi-final and then outlasted Jamaica 32-27 for a satisfying tournament victory .
Casey Williams and her team then beat England in a one-off test before squaring a two match series in Jamaica.
The status quo continued in the ANZ Championship, with Australian teams continuing to dominate at the business end of the season and the New Zealand franchises performing abysmally over the ditch.
The star-studded Magic side, with a completely international line-up set the pace all season before suffering an almost inexplicable collapse, losing their last three matches in a row, including their two playoff matches .
The Wellington Central Pulse threatened to set all kinds of records for the longest losing streak and when they finally recorded their first win in round 13 the celebrations fell only just short of a ticker tape parade.
It would be their only win of the year and they still remain among the contenders for New Zealand's worst-ever sporting franchise.
Silver Ferns Test matches in 2009
World Seven 48 Silver Ferns 44
World Seven 53 Silver Ferns 44
Silver Ferns 46 World Seven 41
Silver Ferns 53 Australia 50
Australia 48 Silver Ferns 44
Australia 36 Silver Ferns 33
Australia 47 Silver Ferns 46
Silver Ferns 52 Australia 36
Silver Ferns 65 England 59
Silver Ferns 61 Jamaica 56
Jamaica 53 Silver Ferns 50
Played: 11 Won: 5 Lost: 6
