2 weeks Ago
Australia has hit a record low to concede the Constellation Cup to netball rivals New Zealand with one more Test still to play. The Diamonds coughed up their first loss to the Silver Ferns in Australia in more than five years on Sunday , and with it their hopes to reclaim the Cup. It’s the first time the side has suffered three straight defeats under coach Stacey Marinkovich.
Watch every Constellation Cup match live and exclusive to Fox Sports, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
And more pain looms for the world champions as New Zealand eye a historic first Constellation Cup whitewash. Here’s the Talking Points from Game 3 ahead of the final Test in Melbourne on Wednesday. DID THE CHANGES WORK? The Diamonds headed into Sunday’s Game Three against New Zealand with it all to play for.
And they certainly showed the fire in the first half. But the Aussies fell apart in a second half disaster that was labelled “unacceptable” by Fox Netball’s Cat Tuivaiti. So where did it go wrong for Australia? The Diamonds opted to dump more than 150 Test caps of experience to bring in Rudi Ellis, Matilda Garrett and Georgie Horjus - for her first cap.
But the move didn’t pay off on the scoreboard. That’s not pointing fingers. Statistics show the only two players who didn’t contribute a turnover were Sunday Aryang and Garrett, and they played just a combined 27 minutes.
Sarah Klau was the only circle defender to pull in an intercept - while down the other end the Silver Ferns’ defensive duo of Kelly Jackson and Karin Burger had three between them as part of their seven gains. Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich was adamant Jo Weston, Kiera Austin and Kate Moloney remained in contention to return for the final match in Melbourne - to be played at the home court of the Vixens’ trio. “Some players are really unlucky not to be in the 12 – it’s not because they are doing something so bad,” she said.
Tuivaiti said it was “a lot of individual error” that cost the Diamonds in Game Three, and they were punished by the Ferns for it. Statistics show that after holding a 75% to 33% gain to goal ratio over the Ferns in the first quarter, the Diamonds sunk to just 43% by full time. The Aussies had a whopping 15 turnovers in the second half alone where they coughed up 33 goals - and managed just 17.
BRING ON THE ‘BOMB SQUAD’ The Kiwis are now the holders of the Constellation Cup and seemingly head into Melbourne’s Game Four with nothing to gain. Coach Dame Noeline Taurua has indicated we should expect changes to her unbeaten line up, which had gone with the same seven for almost all of the 180 minutes of Cup time - and the same starting seven for every Test so far. But she is adamant the lure of a series whitewash against the Aussies means she won’t just run her bench, dubbed the “bomb squad”, for the sake of minutes.
“Opportunities do exist and present for us which is next level for us. It’s pretty cool,” she said. “I think we’ve got to be very smart.
“Our bomb squad has been amazing and they’ve been chomping at the bit to try and get on. “It’s an opportunity to look at that depth – but 4-zip is a beautiful potential thing we’ve never been able to do before.” Goal shooter Amelia Walmsley hasn’t seen any minutes on court in both the losing three-Test Taini Jamison Series or the Constellation Cup - despite the obvious choice as Grace Nweke’s replacement when she joins Super Netball in 2025.
Phoenix Karaka is also yet to feature against the Aussies after missing that losing series to England with illness. Maia Wilson and Parris Mason have played just 10 minutes between them against the Diamonds this series to add to the limited court time for the Ferns’ bench. Whoever takes to the court.
.. expect that same fierceness.
“Having a bit of passion, a bit of heart, a bit of backbone, a bit of want for the game, want for the ball, want for each other...
it’s a cool story,” Kiwi coach Dame Noeline Taurau said. “For us to be able to maintain this level ..
. for us to win here (in Australia) is really confidence building.” Watch every Constellation Cup match live and exclusive to Fox Sports, available on Kayo.
New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. ARE WE TAKING IT TOO FAR? We know 1.
93m Grace Nweke is unstoppable under the post so it’s no surprise the Diamonds have tried to unsettle the youngster to throw her off her game. It didn’t work in Game One. It had a slight effect in Game Two, but it was Game Three where questions were legitimately asked of the tactics of getting under Nweke’s skin.
Speaking during Sunday’s record win over the Diamonds, Kiwi coach Dame Noeline Taurua voiced her concerns. “I’m just a bit worried with Gracie under the post making sure we’ve got landing space,” she told Fox Netball. And former Silver Fern Cat Tuivaiti agreed after watching two separate incidents where Nweke hit the deck - the first a contest with Sarah Klau and the second with Rudi Ellis.
“It does become a bit of a dangerous game,” she said. “But I think Grace Nweke is actually finding it quite hard to hold her space that’s easy to read. I think some of that is in her power now as opposed to being pushed underneath that.
“There are just things about the angles she’s holding that will make it a bit more obvious to see. “The contest is fine..
. it’s an Aus vs New Zealand match, this stuff happens all the time – it’s the landing space. “There’s no need for anyone to be under anyone else’s feet.
” The Ellis collision in particular saw Nweke come down to sit on top of the Diamonds defender. Ferns skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio said it was no secret Nweke was crucial to her side’s success. “Gigi is incredible,” she said.
“I don’t even have words for her – she’s so strong for us. “We need her. We rely on her.
“She’s a big voice and at such a young age to be so dominant and giving to the team I just think, she’s such an asset for us. “Man we are really going to miss her.” Nweke will be ineligible for Silver Ferns selection after opting to sign for the NSW Swifts for the 2025 Super Netball season.
DOWN...
BUT NOT OUT Stacey Marinkovich now has the unwanted record as first Australian coach to lose the Constellation Cup twice - but it’s not all doom and gloom. That 2021 series defeat was Marinkovich’s first at the helm and the first international series post-COVID for the Diamonds. It would remain the only series loss Marinkovich had to her name across a couple of years that included both Commonwealth Games and World Cup gold medals.
So we’re definitely above a pass mark here. Marinkovich said she can see similarities between now and that 2021 series loss (where all Tests were played in Christchurch to limit the COVID restrictions), and remains firmly focused on the 2026 Commonwealth Games and 2027 Netball World Cup to be held in Sydney. “This is back to when I first came into the role of Con Cup,” she said.
“When things don’t necessarily go in direction in terms of win-loss, it’s actually making sure you get as much information so you get your build right towards your marquee events. “As challenging as it is to see those scorelines (in the three 2024 Con Cup losses), there’s a lot of things we’ve been able to take from it that are really going to shape the direction of how we need to train, the strategies we need to put in place, the way we reflourish. “I think we’re a bit mentally fatigued at the moment.
“I think there’s things in the program we can freshen up. “There’s a part of this entire series that we were going to test and try or just gather insight into where players are at.” Marinkovich refused to blame the break in international schedule - where players went away after the series win over England as the Roses headed off to New Zealand - for the unforced errors costing the Diamonds.
“We’ve done things a little bit different in terms of we had a series, we had a break, they went back home and trained. I think there’s a lot of things we need to look at and go ‘what’s causing this cloudiness?’,” she said. “You can be up at the top, but you’ve got to keep pushing forward because everyone’s chasing.
” MEELS THE MASTER We talked about it after the First Test and we’re back talking about it again post Game 3 because Silver Ferns skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio is proving to be unstoppable. The 33-year-old - who turns 34 in January - has wound back the clock in stunning fashion to continue to run out games against -statistically speaking - the best team in the world. While she had just the two different opponents in Sunday’s record win, Ekenasio still stepped up to deliver 14 goals, 10 goal assists and a rebound as well.
It’s amazing to think this is from a player who was overlooked at the Queensland Firebirds, and is a mum to two. Coach Dame Noeline Taurua was full of praise for her captain speaking post-match. “The quality of that shot, no one shoots like her.
Just the trajectory of that arc, obviously she learnt that over here, it’s beautiful,” she said. “Not only is that beautiful, her workload is beautiful and she’s a beautiful person. “Our ability to do our own jobs, hold the home and be a good wife or partner is one of the things that we do and she’s sublime.
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