Diamonds don’t want to give Ferns a sniff

Australia are determined not to give New Zealand even a sniff of a Constellation Cup netball comeback and want to avoid the home hiccups of recent years.

The Diamonds have one hand tightly on the cup after winning the both legs of the four-match series on foreign soil.

‘‘You can’t [relax] at all, that’s the beauty of Australia-New Zealand games, the moment one team relaxes, the other one strikes,’’ Diamonds shooter Susan Pettitt said.

‘‘We’ve had two really good games to start the Constellation Cup and put ourselves in a good position, but game three is crucial.

‘‘We don’t want them to get a sniff of it and then have to go to game four for a decider.’’

In recent times, the Silver Ferns have had more success in Australia than at home.

In the past two years, they have won three of the four games held in Australia, where the Diamonds face more potential distractions.

‘‘We’ve beaten New Zealand in the last two games and been in our own little space, our own little team bubble,’’ Pettitt said.

‘‘To come back to Australia, where we will have a bit more media, a bit more of our family and friends in the crowd and catching up with those people . . . we need to make sure we keep our focus on the games and the job at hand, because sometimes it’s hard to do that, you kind of get caught up in being home.’’

If Pettitt gets on the court tonight she will win her 60th cap, pushing her past Bianca Chatfield into 20th on the all-time Australian appearance list.

It has been a significant year for Pettitt, who broke back into the side in early 2017 after a four-year absence.