Diamonds’ mental stranglehold over Silver Ferns under threat
AUCKLAND: The Diamonds take to the court in Auckland tonight with not just their Constellation Cup defence on the line.
Australia’s mental stranglehold, earned through years of domination over the Silver Ferns, is also at risk.
Backtoback losses for Lisa Alexander’s side — in the World Cup final and game one of the Cup in Christchurch on Sunday— puts it on shaky ground as the world’s best team.
Despite a
284 winloss record dating back to the start of the
2017 Constellation Cup,
Alexander acknowledged her team was under pressure to show it can produce in big games.
Which is why she is delighted game two of the fourtest series will put her team under the blowtorch.
‘‘Absolutely yes. We have to get on top of it,’’ she said.
‘‘You have to admire the efforts of a team that gets within one goal.
‘‘That means they gave everything. But they didn’t quite get there . . . we’re very close but we’ve all individually got to take responsibility for taking that next step, and you know, this is our chance to do that.’’
The Diamonds boasted a fivepoint lead in the third quarter only to lose to Noeline Taurua’s world champion side.
Alexander said she would change up her starting seven to face New Zealand for one reason: ‘‘We didn’t win’’.
‘‘We just don’t like losing, we’re not used to it and we don’t lose much,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve got a winning culture and I can tell you all the Diamonds explayers back home don’t like it.
‘‘We were ahead and we should have closed the game out but credit to the Silver Ferns. They did a great job.’’
Alexander will celebrate her 100th match at the helm of the Diamonds tonight in what is coincidentally the 150th meeting between the transtasman rivals.
Taurua said her side ‘‘took a lot of confidence’’ from the comeback win in Christchurch but New Zealand was still firmly the underdog.
‘‘I don’t think we can get the cake out and ice it already,’’ she said.
‘‘We’re definitely giving respect to the opposition knowing that how massively, historically, they’ve been able to be successful from one game to another.’’
Taurua said she would resist rotation and line up with a stable side.
Wing attack Gina Crampton will miss game two after her knee sprain with a medical assessment to determine whether she travels to Australia for the final matches in Sydney and Perth. — AAP
MARIA Folau will not return to Australia’s Super Netball competition next season.
The 32yearold Silver Ferns shooter was not on a squad list at the end of the league’s contracting period on Monday.
She reportedly turned down an offer to return to the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
That will open the way for 2019 Southern Steel goal shooter Lenize Potgieter.
Potgieter signed with the Thunderbirds in June, having this year joined the Queensland Firebirds at the end of the Steel’s season.
She is also South Africa’s firstchoice goal shooter and was earlier this month named South Africa’s sportswoman of the year.
While Folau will undoubtedly be a big loss, Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst has plenty of confidence in Potgieter.
‘‘[Potgieter] is an athlete who has excelled on the international stage and will be looking to stamp her mark on the competition in our colours,’’ she said in a press release.
Former Silver Fern Kayla Cullen has signed with the New South Wales Swifts.
The 27yearold has played for the Northern Stars in the ANZ Premiership over the past three seasons.
However, an injuryhampered season left her outside the Silver Ferns World Cup squad.