Langman’s long run ends in loss
Australia produced a dominant first quarter display and never relinquished their lead to win a physical battle 49-45 and the four match netball series 3-1 in Invercargill.
There was no fairytale for Silver Ferns wing defence Laura Langman’s last test match before she plays in the Australian domestic competition, or coach Janine Southby in her first season at the helm.
Langman’s record of 141 straight tests will now end but, while heaping praise on the stalwart midcourter at the press conference following the game, coach Janine Southby and captain Katrina Grant also were far from talking about Langman in the past tense.
The two were also viewing it as a break rather than any sort of end of an era.
‘‘Laura and I are pretty tight, so it has been great working with her over these last few months,’’ Grant said. ‘‘We will miss her in January but who knows what will happen after that, we’ll just wait and see and I’m hoping she will be back.’’
Southby said Langman provided an example as to what it took to be of international quality.
‘‘We are going to miss that but we look forward to her fighting for it when she comes back. She is a real professional in everything she does and she sets really high standards. It is something she has picked up over many, many years.
‘‘It is just that real passion and heart to be the best you can be every time you take the court is amazing.’’
Entering the game, New Zealand needed a 22-plus victory to win the title, which was always going to be a tall order.
Australia made the Ferns battle to work the ball into the attacking circle initially with some energetic defence, while by comparison the Diamonds had few problems initially finding towering goal shoot Caitlin Bassett. The Diamonds ran out to a six goal lead 12-6 towards the end of the first quarter as the Ferns were heavily penalised.
By quarter time, the Silver Ferns had fought back to 13-9, but conceded far more penalties 21-12.
Australia didn’t miss a shot in the first quarter with Bassett 10/10 and Gretel Tippett by quarter time, while her opposite Bailey Mes only had 3/6.
There were two goal attack substitutions, as the experienced Maria Tutaia entered the game halfway through the second quarter, replacing Te Paea Selby-Rickit for NZ, while Natalie Medhurst replaced Tippett for Australia.
Tutaia’s injection seemed to lift the confidence of the Ferns, as they reduced the deficit to just two goals late in the second quarter, before a late goal gave Australia a 22-19 lead at half-time.
According to Silver Ferns coach Janine Southby, introducing Tutaia was always about reading what was happening on court.
‘‘She provided that experience and that cool head because there was a lot of pressure out there and another thing she did was open Bailey up a lot more and getting that ball into the circle and that ability to be able to turn and shoot.’’
The Ferns claimed a 10-9 second quarter win as they restricted the Australians to just nine goals in the second quarter, while Mes improved her shooting stats only missing one shot all quarter.
Australia stretched their lead to five goals early in the third quarter as the Australian goal keep Sharni Layton and Clare McMeniman stood strong, but then the Ferns hit back.
They closed the gap to two goals in the third quarter, but every time they scored a goal, Australia found Tippett who returned to the game and Bassett who returned the favour. By three-quarter time, Australia had restored their lead to 36-32 and kept the Silver Ferns at arms’ length.