Diamonds Back to Winning Ways

The Australian Diamonds have taken the win over the New Zealand Silver Ferns in match three of the Constellation Cup on Saturday.

After a disappointing two goal loss to the Ferns in Launceston a few days earlier, the Diamonds came out fighting, leaving no stone unturned in their 12 goal victory.

The start of the game saw a good tussle between the two sides, with the score line even heading into quarter time.

It wasn’t until six minutes into the second quarter, when New Zealand made a change in their mid-court, that the Diamonds were able to make a break.

Australia stepped out to a four-goal lead leading up to the half time break, putting the Silver Ferns under pressure heading into the second half.

Whilst New Zealand opted to make a number of changes to their team for the third quarter, the Australian head coach remained confident in her team, leaving the line up untouched.

This decision was rewarded with Australia breaking away to a ten point lead, before finishing the quarter eight goals up. 

In the end, the Diamonds showed why they are the reigning Constellation Cup champions, taking their second win in the series by 12 goals.

Whilst the score line reflects a fairly comfortable win, Diamonds captain Claire McMeniman stated that “on court, it’s an incredibly grinding and tough game right until the end.”

“Even with that last spurt that New Zealand had coming back at us at the end of the fourth quarter, it makes you feel like they are breathing down your neck with only one or two goals in it.”

“I don’t think we were ever in a position where we felt comfortable in terms of the lead we had and we were always wanting to push further. Given we know that New Zealand has the ability to come back very quickly, you can’t be complacent with the lead you have.”

Head coach, Lisa Alexander reiterated McMeniman’s comments explaining “what the Constellation Cup teaches all of the players are some really great lessons about how to back up and that you can’t take anything for granted in any international netball.”

Whilst Alexander was pleased with how her side backed up after their loss in Launceston, she said “there will still be things we can improve on.”

The Diamonds will be looking to put all identified improvements into practice in order to take out the Cup in Invercargill on Thursday. 

The fourth and final game is scheduled to take place at 7:30pm local time (2:30pm WST).