Aussie depth comes to fore
AUSTRALIA outgrinded then outshone New Zealand for a 57- 42 victory in the Constellation Cup series opener at Brisbane Entertainment Centre yesterday.
The Silver Ferns took the fight up to the Diamonds in the first term as they tried to turn it into a scrappy street fight.
But it was all Australia after that as it proved too classy and clinical, drawing first blood in the four- Test series.
The Diamonds outscored the Silver Ferns 14- 6 in the second term and 20- 11 in the third to end the match as a contest.
Australia embraced a squad mentality. Shooters Caitlin Bassett ( 17/ 21) and Steph Wood ( 7/ 11) made way for Caitlin Thwaites ( 21/ 21) and Gretel Tippett ( 12/ 12) in the second half, Tippett providing the highlight of hitting a shot as she fell out of bounds.
Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander also rotated her midcourt and defensive end, and Australia’s superior depth ensured it kept the pedal to the metal. Alexander was surprised by the low- scoring first quarter, which ended 10- 10, but proud of how her team clicked into gear.
“I thought it was quite an outlier of a quarter. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” she said. “To change it up again at quarter- time and really put the foot down and play some good netball in that second quarter was pleasing … they talked to each other and kept their focus even when the Silver Ferns were making lots of changes.
“Sometimes you have to grind it out and get on with it.’’
The Silver Ferns have made great strides under new coach Noeline Taurua since their poor Commonwealth Games in April but know they still have work to do before next year’s World Cup in Liverpool.
New Zealand bustled Australia early and jumped to a 7- 4 buffer as intercepts, deflections and handling errors dominated the opening exchanges.
But the Diamonds quickly found their rhythm to peg back the Kiwis before marching to a fourth straight win since their shock loss to England in the Commonwealth Games final.
Maria Folau finished with 26 goals from 29 attempts for New Zealand but had precious little support from her goalers.
New Zealand captain Laura Langman said the Silver Ferns were guilty of silly turnovers.
“Straight after the game all of us identified those soft errors … it’s just not good enough and not international standard,” she said.
The second game of the series will be played in Townsville on Wednesday.