Australian Diamonds claim series honours against England Roses ...

Constellation Cup squad announced

57 minutes agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 11:16am

Full-time stats

1 hours agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 10:37am

Kiera Austin named POTM

1 hours agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 10:30am

We'll end the blog there. Another successful series for Australia!

It's been a pleasure to update you on all the action on ABC Sport blog. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to check back here for our full game analysis. It will be published above.

Key Event

57m agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 11:16am

In celebration of their series win against England, the Diamonds have announced the Australian squad set to take on world number two in October, with the first two matches happening across the ditch in New Zealand.

The good news is that injured defenders Courtney Bruce and Jo Weston are expected to make their returns then. As much as it has felt like the Silver Ferns have slipped in their standards anytime Australia meets New Zealand it is a fierce battle, so the team will very much need their experience.

Unfortunately this means 21-year-old goal keeper Ash Ervin won't get to debut in 2024. At 192cm tall and after a great Super Netball season at the Sunshine Coast Lightning we were all eager to see her don the green and gold dress. But she's been overlook for these three matches against England and has not been selected for the Constellation Cup.

The other player that drops out of the squad is specialist wing defence Amy Parmenter, who got a start in game two but only lasted 30 minutes before being switched out. It's probably the right call given Jamie-Lee Price is owning that spot right now and can also play centre. But it's a tough call for Amy who has been in the squad for some time and struggled to get consistent court time.

Fox Netball pundit Bianca Chatfield has just made an interesting point about the fitness of each team and how she felt the England Roses may have been impacted by the three-day turnaround between each game.

Overall the two nations played three games across six days. It's pretty intense. Now Australia didn't seem to have a problem with this, Sunday Aryang just said post-match that she even felt ready to play another game again.

But for England, where most of their athletes come from the UK Superleague set-up. A league that isn't of a full-time professional status yet like Super Netball here. Perhaps they might have been up for the fight a bit more with a bigger break between outings.

It did feel like the Roses slipped off in intensity in the second-half and that their third quarter was flat. A good point from Bianca.

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1h agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 10:37am

Before we head off to the press conference with the coaches and captains, let's take a quick look at the final stats for game three. Looking over the numbers, it's much the same from what we saw at the half-time. The Diamonds monstered England in defence, took more intercepts and got more tips on the ball. They were also cleaner in defence and were able to contribute more to the game as England players stood beside their opposition player a total 62 times. They gave away 14 more penalties and also turned the ball over eight more times. Ouch!

The scoring stats are not much better for the visiting team. In 60 minutes of netball they only managed to convert one of their gains. In comparison, the Diamonds made sure they scored seven more times when they turned over the ball.

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1h agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 10:30am

We picked it! Goal attack Kiera Austin gets the honours for game three and also for the series. She was a consistent performer. She shot 24 goals at 83 per cent tonight, as well as 15 goal assists, 18 feeds and 12 centre pass recieves. Meanhile in defence, Austin and also had three gains, including two intercepts! That's almost unheard of from a shooter. Wow!

Here's what Austin had to say on host broadcast:

"They did their homework on us for game two, but we were back to the drawing board and it was great to put on that performance tonight ... In these tournaments you have to back up really quickly and I haven't done that well in the past, so getting enough sleep and fuelling my body is important. All the boring stuff and just taking it one game at a time ... I'm learning from the veterans around me like Lizzy and Paigey and they've done it for so long, but it was great to see Sophie Dywer come on at the end there and I was stoked to get as much game time as I did this series."

She said she'll be off to support the Sydney Swans at the AFL Grand Final this weekend as the team lays low before it's next international series against New Zealand in October.

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1h agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 10:25am

Well there we have it. The Diamonds win game three to keep their unbeaten record at home against England intact.

Bodies were flying everywhere in those final minutes as fatigue set in and desperation reached an all-time high. What a frustrating end to the game for the Roses. They had the formula to win this series all worked out — or so it appeared — after game two. But the tough thing about facing the world's number one team is you can't hold them down for long. The depth and experience of the Aussies has proved the difference tonight.

They've managed to bounce back from their two-goal loss on Sunday to win by the very same margin they did last Thursday. 13 goals. It's the Diamonds ninth series win over England.

Two and a half minutes left now and now it's Kate Moloney's turn to get an opportunity. Replacing vice captain Paige Hadley at centre. Moloney started in the second game of course, but at least coach Marinkovich is getting her involved in the game now that she knows the result is certain.

* NOTE: Later the coach revealed she only made this change because Hadley was suffering from cramping.

With six minutes left in the game both teams have decided to rest their starting goal attacks and give their younger stars a go. The Roses went first, bringing Berri Neil on and Housby off. We can see Housby smiling on the bench about that decision, she clearly cares about building the next generation of England players. But in my mind, deep down she would know, that this also means England know they've lost this match and are now using the remaining minutes to blood new players.

Meanwhile, Australia have given Austin a rest and brought Sophie Dwyer on for her first minutes in this series. It's their first substiution of the game

SCORE: Australia lead64-50

Kiera Austin once again is proving to be a thorn in England's side as she swats a Roses centre pass away and into the clutches of Australia. The Diamonds defence is starring in all thirds of the court and Austin has to be a contender for Player of the Match for her combined efforts in offence and defence.

Defenders do tend to grow into games and in this fourth and final quarter Sarah Klau is one again picking off the high ball. It seems England haven't learned from their mistakes against her in game one. Perhaps as fatigue sets in, it's hard go fix those bad habits.

The Diamonds can see the end is near and are not letting up as they convert five of the opening six goals in this final quater to make a statement. This series is ours.

SCORE: Australia lead 55-43

Opening seconds of the final quarter and Diamonds goal defence Sunday Aryang gets a deflection as England try to send possession into their circle. Her elusive closing speed is what makes her such a deadly player. You think there's enough room for a pass and all of a sudden there's not. Australia convert England's first centre pass.

SCORE: Australia lead 51-42

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2h agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 10:05am

 That 15 minutes absolutely flew by!

And a bit of dynamic play by the two Aussie shooters in the final minute pleased the crowd. The ball was falling out of court and while balancing on one foot Garbin managed to send it back Austin's way to lead to a cracking goal.

The Aussies have also broken their third quarter curse this series to take the period 20-18. Do the Roses have anything left in the tank to fightback from here? They look a bit flat.

New Zealand umpire Gareth Fowler and Housby are not seeing eye to eye. There may have been a teeny bit of back chat about a decision from the Roses centurion ... And he's responded.

"That's enough goal attack."

However, it's not an official warning.

Speaking of substitutions ... With about six minutes left in this quarter England have sent Razia Quashie on into goal keeper and shifted Williams into goal defence. Fadoju heads to the bench. Although she's been threatening in this game the lively defender hasn't been able to convert her touches on the ball into goals on the scoreboard. It's time for a change.

Five and a half minutes into this third quarter and Roses head coach Jess Thirlby has injected Imogen Allison back into the game. Allison started at centre before she was replaced by Amy Carter (no relation to me, haha!) late in the second quarter. After spending a chunk of time on the bench now, it's important she gets invovled in the game once again. Allison is playing in her 46th international game and she's their most experienced defender.

It's nice to see injured Diamonds defender Jo Weston in the stands alongside Netball Australia chief executive Stacey West. Weston was ruled out of this series and has been dealing with some lower leg injuries the past couple of years, but it's awesome to see she's made the trip out to the country to cheer on her teammates in her home state.

Ohhh, okay I see what you're saying! I'll keep an eye out for the next time Fadoju does it and see if I can also see that similarity.

Heading out for the third quarter Marinkovich has backed her wing defence to continue despite the warning hanging over her head.

Speaking with the host broadcaster, Marinkovich said this: "Obviously a rush of blood, just got to take a moment, take a breath and now she's just got to make some smart decisions now."

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2h agoWed 25 Sep 2024 at 9:47am

So let's take a closer look at the numbers.

The Aussies are doing better defensively and getting their hands to clean ball. Otherwise, the rest of the stats are pretty even.

Here on the scoring stats, you can see the Diamonds are just a bit more certain on converting their centre passes and gains. But the Roses have scored the last six goals to make the margin look a bit more respectable at half-time. Be wary of the momentum shift! Not listed here is the shooting accuracy. Australia are at 88 per cent and England are 89 per cent.