THE Silver Ferns got their Constellation Cup campaign off to a strong start clinching a four-goal victory against the Diamonds in Game 1 of the series (49-44). It was the first time Australia had played an international game since October 2019, with the signs somewhat obvious as the connections struggled to fire, while three debutants also made their way onto the court throughout the encounter. Boasting speed and tenacity, the Ferns worked their way through the Diamonds’ physicality to steadily increase the lead and while Australia mounted a comeback in the final term it was not enough to knock the reigning World Champions off their perch.

New Zealand put their foot down quickly in the opening term with Noeline Taurua’s words echoed across the court “cut and drive” as each player worked in overdrive to reposition and attack the game. The connection between Maia Wilson and Ameliaranne Ekenasio was on song straight with Wilson commanding the ball and despite a couple of early misses still remained strong under the post. Her added versatility and movement kept the likes of Courtney Bruce guessing down back, while Jo Weston had her work cut out for her against Ekenasio, was doing a power of work to bring the ball down into the attacking third – if not to shoot it herself but dish off to Wilson.

In her debut performance, it was Kiera Austin that took the lead in the attacking third for the Diamonds with the young goaler posting the first two goals of the game before spearhead and Australian captain Caitlin Bassett landed her first goal of the game a tick before the four-minute mark. With new connections aplenty in the Australian front end, it took a while for the side to settle in and create a rhythm with congestion being a main problem as Sulu Fitzpatrick closely marked Bassett inside the circle. The Australian side were unable to ease the ball into the goal circle and were often forced to flick the ball around instead of looking straight into Bassett holding under the post.

Holding a four-goal lead at quarter time, the Ferns went into the second term unchanged with Ekenasio and Wilson sharing the load under the post to keep the defenders guessing. The Diamonds ate into the margin with Bassett and Austin reading the space well to get back within two before the Ferns once again put the accelerator down. The ever-reliable Liz Watson started to warm into the game but was well covered by Sam Winders with the wing defence going toe-to-toe both on circle edge and through the midcourt to really put Watson through her paces and smother her every move.

In her first official start for the Ferns, 31-year-old Claire Kersten was proving to be a menace through the centre showcasing her defensive and offensive attributes while Gina Crampton continued to shine up against Diamonds returnee Gabi Simpson. A tried and tested wing defence, Simpson struggled to generate her normal impact, drawing a lot of attention from the umpire and causing a slight disjoint in the defensive unit. Accuracy started to waiver for Austin with the goal attack converting at 57 per cent the lowest of any shooter on court while the Ferns seemed to remain steady despite the defensive change of Bruce out to goal defence and Sarah Klau onto goal keeper. Klau injected an added bit of height in the goal circle while Bruce’s move out provided stronger hands over pressure and aerial presence to nullify the quick ball movement of the Silver Ferns.

Reducing the lead at half-time to three goals, new head coach Stacey Marinkovich continued to tinker with the line-up as Weston re-entered the game out in wing defence while Verity Charles made her debut in wing attack. Charles’ influence was undeniable, lighting up the court with her energiser bunny style of play and give and go in the attacking third. Her mentality was clear, turn and deliver into Bassett under the post, with her injection altering the overall flow of the attacking third as the Diamonds played with more confidence. Charles combined seamlessly with Watson out in centre with the midcourt duo finding more space and penetrating circle edge.

More laboured in attack and struggling to combat the speed in the Diamonds frontend, Karin Burger made her way onto the court for New Zealand. Utilising her long arms and fancy footwork, Burger wasted no time having an impact out in goal defence as Jane Watson switched back into goal keeper, giving a glimpse of what the upcoming Tactix line-up will look like this season. The match-up between Watson and Bassett did not disappoint with the Ferns defender using her footwork and constant bodywork to offset the Diamonds captain. However that was only short lived as Taurua once again changed the defensive structure. With the Diamonds making a few changes across the board the steady head of Ekenasio came to the fore with the Ferns captain nailing six goals for the term at 100 per cent accuracy, while Wilson only missed the one goal making the most of their chances as they skipped out to a nine-goal lead heading into the final change.

Looking for answers in attack, the Diamonds made another change in the form of a third debutant – Cara Koenen. The Sunshine Coast Lightning prodigy pulled on the goal shooter bib and impressed with her timing along the baseline and strong holds to combat the likes of Watson, Burger and Fitzpatrick down back. The partnership between Koenen and Austin took no time to click with the two rotating well under the post and boasting a 100 per cent accuracy to take out the fourth term. Australia managed to reduce the deficit nailing four consecutive goals opening up the attacking third with their decisive movements. The Ferns on the other hand, slowed down unable to move the ball with the same level of conviction they had throughout the opening three quarters but did enough to withhold the fast finishing Diamonds.

Crampton starred with her circle edge work, pinpoint passes and all round class to earn Player of the Match honours amassing 19 goal assists, 14 centre pass receives and three pickups. Wilson was a rock under the post with 31 goals from 40 attempts at 77 per cent while Ekenasio converted at 78 per cent thanks to her 18 goals. Watson was a key cog in defence with three gains, one intercept and six deflections. Bassett led the charge with 19 goals from 21 attempts at 91 per cent with Austin also proving herself in her debut performance with 18 goals at 75 per cent. In her sole quarter on court Koenen did not miss a shot with seven goals straight while Bruce was a menace in defence collecting eight gains, seven deflections, five rebounds and two intercepts.