Australia’s Diamonds fall to New Zealand’s Silver Ferns 64-50 in opening Constellation Cup Test
Australia will need to re-group following its comprehensive 64-50 defeat to a formidable New Zealand line-up in the first Constellation Cup Test in Wellington.
The Silver Ferns posted their highest score in regular time against the Diamonds to claim a 1-0 series lead on Sunday, having taken control of the opening Test during a dominant second quarter.
The victory was a clear statement from the New Zealanders in a week where they were criticised for an ongoing dip in form that has seen them to drop from world number two to three on the international netball rankings.
After leading 17-16 at the first break, the Silver Ferns poured on the pressure in the second term to establish a 34-25 lead by half-time.
The Diamonds outscored their opponents 15-13 in the third quarter but the world champions still had a mountain to climb, trailing 47-40 ahead of the final term.
The Silver Ferns showed no signs of faltering when in sight of full-time, adding to their lead as they completed a dominant performance.
Australia’s Sophie Garbin (centre) found herself under defensive pressure from New Zealand. (Getty Images: Hagan Hopkins)
Goal shooter Grace Nweke was superb for the Silver Ferns, landing 50 attempts, while Ameliaranne Ekenasio added a valuable 14 goals to see both players finish with 94 per cent accuracy.
Nweke was lauded for her performance as she pushed her body to its absolute limits, leaping and stretching for the ball throughout the game.
Midcourter Maddy Gordon was named player of the match for her hard work punching up the court before feeding possession with pure instinct, high and long to Nweke.
Australia head coach Stacey Marinkovich made 15 substitutions as she tried to find the right line-up to stay in the fight.
But the Diamonds struggled to link in attack and shut down Nweke in defence.
It marks the team’s seventh straight loss on New Zealand soil.
“We just weren’t on song tonight,” Marinkovich said in a post-match media conference.
“A loss doesn’t sit well. There’s lots to learn from this experience and we need to put our heads down. We’re going to have to come out hard in the next one.
“You’ve got to make the most of the opportunities and we let a couple slip.”
The second of the four Constellation Cup Tests will be played in Auckland on Wednesday.
The third and fourth Tests will be contested in Perth (October 27) and Melbourne (October 30).
Brodie Roberts (right) shoots for goal during Australia’s win over New Zealand in the men’s Test. (Getty Images: Hagen Hopkins)
Earlier, Australia convincingly defeated New Zealand 84-34 in the first men’s Test.
The Kelpies had the greater share of possession (56 per cent) and never looked like being challenged by the outclassed Net Blacks.
Australia’s Jerome Gillbard was named Player of the Match, scoring 23 goals at 89 per cent accuracy in his 30 minutes on court.
Together with goal attack Brodie Roberts, the pair laid the platform for a strong win.
The two teams will meet again in Auckland for another double header alongside the women’s on Wednesday.
Look back at how the action unfolded in our live blog.
Key Events
That’s it from us!
Well, what an entertaining start to the 2024 Constellation Cup that was. Again, well done to New Zealand on pulling off such a big upset in the opening game and we look forward to seeing what they bring to the court in three days’ time in Auckland for Game 2.
The Kelpies and Net Blacks will also play Game 2 of the Trans-Tasman Cup on Wednesday. We’ll be live blogging both games, so make sure to check back on the ABC Sport page for more analysis.
Big turnaround for NZ
What happened to the silver ferns .,this is not the same team that lost to England 12 days ago, We look hopeless against England, just insane result .. I cap my hat to the girls I had Australia by 6
– Naki pete
Agree with you! I did watch the Taini Jamison series and the first game was certainly competitive, but the Silver Ferns seems to be humming along at another level now. Maybe playing these series back-to-back has helped them gain momentum? While the Aussies had a break after England flew to New Zealand. I do think though that the Silver Ferns were simply fired up after everyone discussing their bad form and drop in the World Rankings. It felt like they had a real point to prove!
How much did Briony Akle impact the result?
Something we haven’t discussed yet is the presence of Briony Akle in the Silver Ferns camp. The two-time NSW Swifts premiership winning head coach was appointed as their assistant coach under Noeline Taurua for this Constellation Cup.
In the Super Netball environment she works with Sarah Klau and Paige Hadley on a daily basis. And Taurua spent a couple of weeks with the Swifts during the domestic season working as an assistant under Akle.
Without trying to claim New Zealand’s success tonight was due to an Australian, it would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall during the Silver Ferns prep and what insights Akle had to share with the team! And how much did Noeline learn from her time spent in the Super Netball set-up?
Full-time statistics
Not much different in these stats, other than New Zealand getting more hand to ball defensively and Australia turning it over with six more turnovers.
Again, not a heap different here. It probably shows the level of intensity and competitiveness seen in this game. New Zealand were slick in attack, while the Diamonds made a range of mistakes – but for the most part, were still playing at an okay standard.
Maddy Gordon named POTM
Well, she had a stellar game and Gordon thoroughly deserves her Player of the Match award in Game 1 of the Constellation Cup for her 29 feeds, 26 goal assists, one intercept, two pickups and eight second-phase receives. Did a mountain of work!
A record victory
Oh wow, it turns out the Silver Ferns’ 64 goal tally marks their highest score over the Diamonds ever in regular time. Well done! They had plenty of critics leading into this series. Now it feels like the sky is the limit ahead of Game 2 in Auckland on Wednesday.
Silver Ferns make a statement
The Ferns are a great team. Well done to them.
Well done to you, Brittany for your bangin blogging 😀– Natty
Thanks for following along Natty! It’s fair to say the kiwi side have made a statement after that bad news during the week, seeing them slip from second to third in the world rankings.
They were clearly fired up from the very first whistle!
If they can string a couple of victories together against the Diamonds in the Constellation Cup, they could quickly move back up to second rank … Depending on the results in the upcoming England vs Jamaican series.
FT: 64-50 New Zealand win
We didn’t expect that! Well done to the Silver Ferns. A wonderful team effort. What a way to start the series. The Diamonds hoodoo in the land of the long white cloud continues. They’ve now lost their past seven matches in New Zealand.
First changes for New Zealand
With just two minutes left in the game, Noeline Taurua has made her first substitution. Australian-born midcourter and former Netball Word Youth Cup player, Claire O’Brien takes the court for the very first time against her old teammates.
O’Brien never quite reached the Diamonds set-up during her time in the Australian program but she did play for both the Swifts and Giants in Super Netball before moving across the ditch to play in the New Zealand Premiership.
With two Māori parents, O’Brien was able to get her citizenship and be treated as a domestic player rather than an import. A few weeks ago, she debuted for the Silver Ferns against England. It’s a proud moment for her family.
This is New Zealands to lose
Three minutes left in the game and Dwyer is called for an offensive contact as the Wellington crowd soaks up this win. Maybe Austin should have come back on after the Dwyer breaking call. Often a spell on the bench can do wonders for a player, showing them what they were doing wrong and where they can make an impact. Austin would probably revel in that challenge.
SCORE: 60-49 New Zealand’s way
Aryang returns
Marinkovich has noticed time is ticking away and has swiftly made a switch in wing defence to bring Aryang on and Moloney off. Aryang is a player that likes to float off the body of her opponent, has great closing speed and likes to hunt the ball rather than the tight one on one defence Moloney offers.
Breaking call
Sophie Dwyer is called for breaking and Paige Hadley looks frustrated! She’s not long crept back on the court to return to her starting centre position. It’s not what the Diamonds are after entering the final seven minutes of this game.
Heffernan flies high!
Brilliant intercept from Kate Heffernan, she pinched it right from underneath Kate Moloney’s nose. Huge moment off the Australian centre pass.
It’s getting physical!
Bruce and Nweke both leaped into the air to try and catch a high feed, but their arms got tangled. As Nweke got more hang time and took hold of the ball, she brought her arms down and connected with Bruce. But there was no malice. Bruce clutched at her forehead and the umpire called an offensive contact, gifting the Aussie goal keeper possession. But the replay looks as if Nweke didn’t connect with hard force or anywhere near the spot Bruce was clutching. Probably the wrong call.
Final 15 minutes
No changes for either team heading into this fourth quarter. The Diamonds have done a good job at slowing down the Silver Ferns first centre pass. It took them almost a full minute to score.
Meanwhile, Maddy Gordon is clutching at her chin after Kate Moloney accidentally clipped her on the face as she contested the ball on the edge of the circle.
SCORE: 48-40 New Zealand’s way
3/4T: 47-40 New Zealand’s way
The Silver Ferns have led at every break of this game and take a seven-goal lead into three-quarter time. Every New Zealand player has been immense, while it feels like the Diamonds are a bit shook. They just can’t get their line-up right. The Australians won that quarter, 15-13 but they’re going to need a bigger fight in these last 15 minutes.
Klau FINALLY enters the game
Sarah Klau is injected with two and a half minutes left in this third quarter. Is it too late though? The Diamonds were up by three for the quarter before New Zealand fought back to level it and take us back to the nine-goal margin we saw at half-time.
Klau is also donning the GD bib, when her impact could really be felt at goal keeper. There must be a reason Marinkovich is persisting with Bruce. Perhaps fast tracking her return to fitness and testing her ability to work herself into the game.
Koenen rebound
Dwyer was happy to send the ball in from long range, but the shot was a little offline and came off the rim. Koenen had to get up nice and high and over the top of the New Zealand defenders in order to pluck that ball out of the air. She finishes the job with another goal.
SCORE 43-37 New Zealand’s way
Offensive contact
Nweke popped out of the circle and as she tried to get back near the post, she knocked Weston over. The umpire spotted it straight away and Australia were quick to capitalise on the opportunity. Dwyer converts their next centre pass to make it two in a row.
SCORE: 42-36 New Zealand’s way
Coach killer
Australia edge one back through Dwyer as Ekenasio is called for breaking on a Silver Ferns centre pass. Now the Diamonds are leading this quarter by one goal.
SCORE: 41-32 New Zealand’s way
