WITH the first match of the 2019 Constellation Cup done, dusted and going much the same way as the World Cup Final in July, the Australian Diamonds will have plenty to fight for on Wednesday night against the New Zealand Silver Ferns. Neither side missed a beat coming in with relatively new-look squads compared to their respective World Cup campaigns, with the Ferns delivering the Aussies their first consecutive loss since 2013 and proving the coaching of Noeline Taurua has well and truly paid off. In Sunday’s match the Diamonds seemed to be sluggish and unable to compete with the Ferns’ intensity, meaning they have plenty to prove this time around to bring back some of the dominant form they’ve showed in recent years – though with a very different line-up.

For the Silver Ferns, the tried and true shooting combination of Maria Folau and Ameliaranne Ekenasio was exceptional on Sunday with the pair dazzling with their consistency and versatility in the goal circle. With the pair both able to shoot from range with the speed and star power of Laura Langman around circle edge feeding, New Zealand are unlikely to make many changes after stellar performances from a number of players. Phoenix Karaka had some big moments defensively, joining forces with Katrina Rore and Jane Watson to force turnover after turnover and draw back momentum every time the Diamonds took charge.

While the Diamonds have plenty of stellar options across the court, whether they make changes going into the second match remains to be seen. The defensive unit worked overtime last match but have skilled options on the bench in Courtney Bruce and Maddy Turner, meaning it could be the attacking circle that provides a switch-up with a wealth of talent to rotate through. While Caitlin Bassett and Gretel Tippett provided a dangerous duo in Match 1, the relative versatility of Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip could be key coming into the second match if an injection of speed and long-bomb accuracy is required – something the Ferns did not need to worry about with Tippett and Bassett both only shooting from short range and playing a relatively consistent but predictable circle on Sunday.

Given Australia have a fire in the belly expect another tight match with physicality and speed to boot, with both sides ready to contest every single ball.