AFTER a nine month hiatus of international netball New Zealand flexed their muscles and picked up where they left off collecting a 13 goal victory against England in the first test of the Taini Jamison Trophy series (58-45). The Ferns led from start to finish and were clinical in their approach down court while the Roses had moments of magic but struggled to find consistency throughout the game, tinkering with their line-up to find any form of dominance.

It was an even start for both sides as they converted off their respective centre passes before the Ferns put the foot down through some strong defensive work to shut down the space and create turnovers. Their zone-style play clogged up the middle channel in the attacking third allowing Sulu Fitzpatrick to pick off passes and create timely tips while Sam Winders’ work out in wing defence to back up Fitzpatrick was also key to their hot start. The Ferns pushed out to as much as a five-goal lead early thanks to the smooth moving attacking unit of Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Maia Wilson with the latter starring under the post with her accuracy. However, the shooters were made to earn it with Roses goal keeper Razia Quashie putting them through their paces credit to her body-on-body pressure and aerial presence to bat the ball away. Play got a little bit ragged towards the end of the term with bodies hitting the deck left, right and centre but the Ferns kept their cool, steadily adding to their margin despite the best efforts of Eleanor Cardwell who seemed to have her long range radar on for England.

Down by five goals at quarter time, the Roses made a couple of changes inside the goal circle with Cardwell switching into her preferred position of goal shooter and Sophie Drakeford-Lewis pulling on the goal attack bib. It was goal-for-goal much of the term as both sides adjusted to the changes with the Ferns’ fluidity through court really coming to the fore. The tried and tested combination of Gina Crampton and Shannon Saunders started to come into play, spotting Wilson and Ekenasio with great ease. For the Roses, Serena Guthrie showcased her brute strength to absorb the mid-air clashes and dish off pinpoint passes while Laura Malcolm started to really come into effect, repeatedly hitting circle edge. The ball movement from England stepped up a notch, blistering down court and catching the defenders off-guard. The long arms of Jane Watson were wreaking havoc for the Roses with the goal defence continuously getting tips to ball and applying pressure on the ball carrier. Looking to kick it up a gear the Ferns made a few changes with Karin Burger pulling on the wing defence bib and Claire Kersten the centre bib as they went on a five-goal streak to push out to a game high 10-goal lead.

The Ferns kept their foot on the throat of the Roses in the opening minutes of the term, flicking the ball around the court and working their way down to the post. Staring down an eight-goal deficit, the Roses rung in the changes with Guthrie pushing back into wing defence to provide some extra defensive pressure, prompting the introduction of Gabby Marshall in centre. The added physicality through the defensive third for the Roses threw the Ferns off their game, with errant passes coming into play and most importantly allowing the visitors to capitalise. The introduction of George Fisher in goal shooter worked wonders for England with the goaler showcasing her array of talents, accuracy and range at the post and overall netball smarts to protect the fall of the ball. A three-goal run sparked the Roses into action however the composed nature of the Ferns allowed them to once again extend their lead.

It was much of the same in the fourth quarter as the Ferns continued to add to their tally. Fisher was a stalwart under the post for the Roses, able to find the goal with ease and weather the storm of Fitzpatrick and Watson. Up the other end, the workrate of Fran Williams was hard to go past with the goal defence upping the ante and picking up a couple of strong rebounds. With the game on their terms, the Ferns made a number of changes with Whitney Souness injected into the game at wing attack while the Roses also shook things up as Kadeen Corbin re-entered the game at goal attack. A lack of cleanliness cost England, pinged for a number of contact calls while their inability to treasure ball allowed the Ferns to establish a 16 goal lead. Returning from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, Monica Falkner made her long awaited Silver Ferns debut and did not disappoint showcasing her netball nous and while she did not finish with any goals on the board, the Ferns did more than enough to walk away with a convincing win.

Wilson was the most prolific shooter on court notching up 34 goals from 39 attempts at 87 per cent while Ekenasio was also serviceable only missing two goals to finish with 24 for the evening. The Roses had a number of shooters ply their trade with Fisher the most damaging to post nailing 18 goals from 22 attempts in her 30 minutes on court while Cardwell managed 15 goals at 88 per cent. Drakeford-Lewis sat at 100 per cent accuracy thanks to her five goals straight while also collecting 12 goal assists, the highest of any Rose, while Crampton led for the Ferns with 21. Defensively, Fitzpatrick was a menace picking up seven gains, three of which were intercepts ,while Watson also impressed amassing two intercepts and four deflections. Quashie and Williams combined for five intercepts, four of which stemmed from Williams along with nine deflections.

STARTING SEVEN 

New Zealand:

GS: Maia Wilson
GA: Ameliaranne Ekenasio
WA: Gina Crampton
C: Shannon Saunders
WD: Sam Winders
GD: Jane Watson
GK: Sulu Fitzpatrick

England:

GS: Kadeen Corbin
GA: Eleanor Cardwell
WA: Laura Malcolm
C: Serena Guthrie
WD: Jade Clarke
GD: Fran Williams
GK: Razia Quashie