Silver Ferns end bad series on especially low note

THE Silver Ferns have rounded out a horror Constellation Cup series with their worst performance of the year, as Australia romped to a series whitewash in Sydney last night.

The Diamonds already had the transtasman trophy locked away for another year — their fifth straight — heading into the finale, leaving the Ferns with only pride to play for, but even that went begging.

With the exception of a rollicking 50 start to the game, the New Zealand side lacked leadership, direction and creativity on attack, delivering another hapless and errorridden display.

The 16goal scoreline continued an alarming trend for the Ferns, with the rookie Australian side’s winning margin increasing significantly with each game.

Silver Ferns skipper Katrina Grant said her side had to ask some tough questions of themselves over the summer break.

‘‘This series has been really disappointing for us. It’s going to be a really hard summer.’’

‘‘If we don’t learn from this, there’s no point in us being here. We promise to come back and be better,’’ she said.

With the series essentially a trial for the Commonwealth Games, the Ferns performances will surely force Southby and Co to rethink some of their selections. New Zealand’s midcourt has been particularly ineffective against Australia, with Shannon Francois and Gina Crampton struggling for consistency, ensuring calls to bring back star centre Laura Langman will only grow louder.

The 141test veteran has been ruled ineligible for New Zealand selection after opting to play in the Australian domestic competition.

Under pressure to produce something special in Sydney, the Ferns made a blistering start to the match scoring the first five goals as Temalisi Fakahokotau made her presence felt early on in her first start against the Diamonds, forcing turnovers on Australia’s first two possessions.

But the period of New Zealand dominance proved shortlived as the Diamonds answered with a run of five of their own, before taking the lead midway through the spell.

The Ferns rediscovered their flow later in the quarter, with the interplay between Sam Sinclair and Te Paea SelbyRickit particularly slick. SelbyRickit netted the last goal of the quarter to give the Ferns a 1312 lead at the first break, the first time they have held a quartertime lead all series.

Australia soon took control of the contest, with the Diamonds defence using the break to figure out how to shut down SelbyRickit, who contributed all of the Ferns’ goals in the first quarter.

Once SelbyRickit was contained, the Ferns attack end was left horribly exposed.

Bailey Mes, who was playing in her 50th test match, was benched midway through the spell after netting just one of her three attempts at goal. The shooter unusually lacked energy and did not look comfortable at any point in her 21 minutes on court, struggling to get her hands on the ball.

Maria Tutaiawas then introduced into the game after being demoted from the starting lineup on the back of a poor performance in Wednesday night’s 12goal loss. Tutaia made a promising start, producing a blistering drive along the baseline to net her first goal, but that proved be a rare spark for the New Zealand attack.

By halftime, the Diamonds had taken a 2622 lead, despite having a few attacking problems of their own.

The surprise introduction of Caitlin Thwaites in place of Caitlin Bassett late in the second period helped open up the Australian attack end, as Thwaites brought more movement to the circle to blunt the impact of Ferns defender Temalisi Fakahokotau.

A 149 third quarter effort had the Australian side out to a 4031 lead heading into the final turn, and the Ferns’ fight seemed to abandon them completely as a determined Diamonds outfit finished their season on a high, claiming just their second cleansweep in eight years of Constellation Cup battles.