Silver Ferns Defeat Australia In Auckland

23 October, 2024

The Silver Ferns are perfectly placed heading to Australia after backing up with a dominant 63-52 second test win over the Diamonds in the four-match Constellation Cup series in Auckland on Wednesday.

The Silver Ferns maintained their intensity and consistency following the 14-goal win in the series-opener on Sunday with another equally-compelling outing against the world champions, who have a strong history of being able to bounce back but were unable to dent the host’s resilient showing second time around.

With the Silver Ferns holding the edge at both ends and through the middle, the Diamonds had few answers in negating the strike power of towering shooter Grace Nweke while also struggling against the relentless defensive efforts of Karin Burger and Kelly Jackson.

The series now heads to Australia for the next two matches in Perth and Melbourne, on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively, the Silver Ferns seeking a rare win across the Tasman to snap their Constellation Cup drought.

``I’m just so proud of the team, so happy after what we’ve been through and what we’ve been able to put out on court,’’ Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio said.

``This means so much and we’ve shown that we’ve got fighters in our team, people who will go out and do the dirty work and don’t care what they come up against. And it’s just been finding a way to bring that out in the girls and that’s been a real change in what we’ve able to put out on court.’’

Not surprisingly, the Silver Ferns went into the second test with an unchanged starting seven while the Diamonds opted for a couple of tweaks. Jamie-Lee Price was moved from wing defence to start the match from centre while Sarah Klau made the start at goalkeeper ahead of Courtney Bruce.

Employing a stifling midcourt defence, Australia were able to hold the Silver Ferns up effectively in the opening exchanges but once the dynamic midcourt pairing of Kimiora Poi and Maddy Gordon settled into their groove the New Zealanders were on their way.

The duo were key figures with their pinpoint passing to shooting kingpin Nweke, while Ekenasio picked up from her stellar showing in the opening test to keep the Silver Ferns attack line on the front foot while sinking some trademark long shots.

Absorbing and resisting, in-circle defenders Burger and Jackson burst into life with a combined disruptive influence to throw the Diamonds shooters off stride. The pressure eventually reaping reward, a withering late burst giving the Silver Ferns a handy 17-11 lead at the first break.

Reinforcements, in the form of Jo Weston, on at goal defence, Sunday Aryang moving across to wing defence and Paige Hadley coming on to replace captain Liz Watson at wing attack did little to diminish the Silver Ferns dominant presence.

The confidence of Poi and Gordon to deliver quality ball into Nweke’s hands alongside the non-stop hustle of Kate Heffernan, Burger and Jackson helped the Silver Ferns build on their momentum as they stretched out their buffer.

Both sides introduced new personnel into the fray, Bruce coming on at goalkeeper for the Diamonds and Sophie Dwyer to goal attack while Claire O’Brien was injected into wing attack for the Silver Ferns.

However, it was the home side who maintained the control and upper hand when leading 33-23 at the main break.

The Diamonds held their own to win the third quarter 16-15, with Dwyer nailing some effective long-range bombs but the visitors’, in general, lacked consistent gains to make any real difference.

In the infancy of her international career, O’Brien slotted in like a veteran against her country of birth while Jackson and Burger continued to cause plenty of disruption at the Australian attack end.

Momentary lapses loosened the Silver Ferns grip slightly as Australia closed the margin to 48-39 at the last turn and with it the slightest of sniffs to get back into the game.

Back from injury, Parris Mason got her first opportunity against Australia halfway through the closing stanza, the Silver Ferns regaining the momentum to finish with a flourish while putting the seal on a commanding second straight win.

Official Result and Stats:

Silver Ferns: 63
Australian Diamonds: 52

Champion Data Match Centre

Shooting Stats - Silver Ferns:
Grace Nweke 47/51 (92%)
Ameliaranne Ekenasio 16/18 (89%)

Shooting Stats - Diamonds:
Sophie Garbin 30/33 (91%)
Kiera Austin 10/12 (83%)
Sophie Dwyer 12/14 (86%)

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