Silver Ferns target more defensive ball in second Constellation Cup ...

At John Cain Arena, Melbourne: Australia 50 (Cara Koenen: 27/31, Kiera Austin: 22/27, Sophie Garbin: 1/1) Silver Ferns 40 (Amelia Walmsley: 21/25, Ameliaranne Ekenasio: 17/20, Maia Wilson: 2/2) 1Q: 12-10, HT: 29-20, 3Q: 40-34.

Generate greater turnover ball in game two, or the Silver Ferns can forget about any slim hope of wresting the Constellation Cup from Australia.

The world champion Diamonds showed they are the benchmark in international netball with a dominant 50-40 win over the Ferns in Thursday’s opener in Melbourne.

Australia’s healthy 10-goal winning margin means they can effectively lock away the Constellation Cup with another win in Sunday's second test in Brisbane (9.30pm start NZ time).

The series then shifts to New Zealand for matches in Invercargill on Thursday and Auckland (October 23), but the Ferns would have a mountain to climb – needing to win both games and claw back goal differential.

Australia controlled test one, leading from start to finish, with their advantage stretching out to as many as 11 goals in the final quarter.

There were some promising passages of play from the Ferns against this Australian juggernaut, especially in the third quarter where New Zealand won the term 14-11.

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Phoenix Karaka and the New Zealand defenders will be gunning for more defensive ball in Brisbane.

The Ferns were always chasing the game after Australia blitzed them with a 17-10 second quarter onslaught, taking a 29-20 lead into the main break.

After a patchy 2-1 series win over a second-string English side, there were flashes of brilliance from the Ferns, but they were let down by their consistency across four quarters.

Against a side of Australia’s quality, it was imperative the Ferns picked up a steady supply of defensive ball and cashed in off those chances to compete with the Diamonds.

Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua stressed that was an area that had to improve in test two. New Zealand produced seven defensive gains to Australia’s 12 and pulled in four intercepts to Australia’s eight.

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Ameliaranne Ekenasio and the Silver Ferns shooters faced tough defensive pressure from the Diamonds.

“We’ve got some young players out there and you can talk all you like, but you’ve got to experience it,” Taurua said.

“It wasn’t too bad, but once again we’ve got to get more ball, giving credit to the Australian Diamonds. Their ball speed [on attack], their ability to get to the circle edge and put the shot up was commendable and amazing.”

This was Australia’s fifth straight win over the Ferns, dating back to October 16 last year when the Ferns triumphed in the second match of the Constellation Cup in Tauranga.

New Zealand hadn’t beaten the Diamonds on Australian soil since October 2019 in Sydney and any vision of a giant-sized upset quickly evaporated in the second quarter.

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New Zealand’s Amelia Walmsley is hounded by Australia’s Courtney Bruce, left, and Jo Weston in Thursday’s Constellation Cup opener.

To their credit, the Ferns didn’t roll over in the second half, having trailed by nine at halftime. They got back into the match and were in the hunt heading into the final quarter, down 40-34.

“Last time we were here we got spanked by more [losing 62-47 last October in Melbourne],” Taurua said.

“There were moments where I think going into that last quarter we were heading around 12 [losing margin], so not necessarily am I happy with 10, because you’re not, but once again we’ll take the licking and we’ll get ourselves ready for game two in Brisbane. The margin whether it’s one or 100, it doesn’t make a difference, you either win or lose.”

The Ferns’ attackers toiled valiantly against the physical, suffocating Australian defence, which made it tough to find an opening and hit the circle edge. They often had to flick off a multitude of passes to break down Australia’s defensive structure, which led to turnovers.

New Zealand were limited to 40 goals, having 12 less attempts at goal than Australia (59 to 47). Nineteen-year-old Amelia Walmsley, in just her third test and first against Australia, shot 21 from 25. She was under constant pressure from test one MVP Courtney Bruce, the best defender in world netball, and Jo Weston and Sarah Klau.

“Look, poor 19-year-old. These are things, you play against legends as such, but also those dreams that you have out there,” Taurua said of Walmsley.

“It’s a great starting point for her and there’s areas we know she can work on, but we keep chipping away. Commendable [performance].”

Star Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke, who is working her way back from a tournament-ending knee injury suffered at the Netball World Cup, travelled with the team to Australia.

Nweke wasn’t in the game-day 12 in Melbourne, but could be an option to return to the court in Brisbane.

If she was, it’s likely the Ferns would manage her minutes, probably using her off the bench and starting Walmsley at goal shoot again.

Taurua indicated prior to the series, Nweke would definitely be back for the third test in Invercargill, if the Australian tests were too early in her recovery.