![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lcimg-5f16d2c7-77e6-41b3-9afb-243d15c8f4ee.jpeg\")
Bruce’s mother and father made the trip from Perth to cheer her on in Auckland. (Getty)<\/p>\nSun 18 Oct 2026 at 8:23pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 8:23pm<\/p>\n
We’ll leave it there<\/p>\n
Okay, we’re going to wrap the blog for now. Thank you for tuning in! More analysis on Game 1 will be added above once we collect our thoughts.<\/p>\n
We’ll be back to blog the second Test in Christchurch on Wednesday night so be sure to check that out for your mid-week fix of netty! Catch you then.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:43pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:43pm<\/p>\n
Bruce reflects on her 100th Test<\/p>\n
It’s not the result she wanted, especially finishing on the bench, but Aussie goal keeper Courtney Bruce\u00a0reflected on reaching the milestone with Sky Sport. It is a huge deal, as only seven players have done it before throughout history.<\/p>\n
“It’s such a credit to the person I am and the little girl that dreamed of playing for the Diamonds. To do it one time is the best so getting to do it 100 times is absolutely incredible.”<\/p>\n
Bruce’s mother and father made the trip from Perth to cheer her on in Auckland. (Getty)<\/p>\n
Sharing the occasion with debutant Jessie Grenvold was fun.<\/p>\n
“Jessie is great, she’s really confident, she’s such an exciting young talent. I think she’s going to do incredible things. It’s funny, we had\u00a0Selina Gilsenan\u00a0in the other night and she said when she played her first Test, Liz was playing her 100th so Jessie has been calling me her Liz Ellis. Excited to see her out there.”<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:27pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:27pm<\/p>\n
Petition for JLP to start in centre<\/p>\n
Watson is better in WA but hard to take Horjus out when she is playing so well.<\/p>\n
– Tess<\/p>\n
Agreed. To be fair, Watson was playing out of position to start the game and maybe that’s on the coaching staff. Price has been the best centre in Super Netball for a few years and if Moloney isn’t available then it seems silly to look beyond her for that position.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:24pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:24pm<\/p>\n
Is Australia going backwards?<\/p>\n
Your an expert Britney , Do you think Australia have gone backwards , as in the commonwealth games , do you think nz and Jamaica have finally bridge the gap and do you think having too many imports have effected local Aus players <\/p>\n
– Kiwi magic <\/p>\n
I think all of those things are true but it shouldn’t be an excuse for the Diamonds. They also get to play against the imports week in, week out. As much as the Australian team was spooked in attack I also think this result is a symptom of poor tactics and decision making with the players they have.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:07pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:07pm<\/p>\n
Grenvold intercept<\/p>\n
A bold move from the debutant. At goal keeper, Grenvold comes out for a screamer and her Diamonds teammates edge another back with a little over two minutes left.<\/p>\n
SCORE: New Zealand leads 53-48<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:06pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:06pm<\/p>\n
Stythe rolls on<\/p>\n
Again, Taurua rings the changes, giving upcoming defender Carys Stythe an opportunity at GK. Every player but Parris Mason has now made it on from their team.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:04pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:04pm<\/p>\n
Poi returns<\/p>\n
Kimiora Poi is back on in WA as Gordon takes a rest. It makes sense to bring some fresh legs on now in the closing minutes given the speed of this game.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:02pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:02pm<\/p>\n
Three in a row for the Diamonds<\/p>\n
A mistake by Burger hands an opportunity to Australia and they’re careful not to waste it at the midway point of the quarter. But they’re going to run out of time to claw this game back and we doubt whether they’ve got the puff to do it anyway.<\/p>\n
SCORE: New Zealand leads 48-41<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:01pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 7:01pm<\/p>\n
Walmsley enters the game<\/p>\n
The margin is teetering between nine and 10 goals but NZ coach Taurua trusts her team and has a bigger picture in mind. She sends on young shooter Amelia Walmsley for the first time tonight. Giving her valuable minutes at GA. They are trying to build a new combination between Walmsley and\u00a0Nweke. Who usually occupy the same position at GS.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:59pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:59pm<\/p>\n
Burger intercept<\/p>\n
Burger intercepts a ball meant for Horjus, incredible athleticism, tracking backwards.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:58pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:58pm<\/p>\n
Heffernan squeezed<\/p>\n
Price and Parmenter squeeze Kate\u00a0Heffernan as she tries to recieve the ball on cricle edge and she falls into the goal circle. Landing on her side. Instead of a contact call it’s an offside call against the Kiwi. Australia take the gift and run with it. Adding a goal to their tally.<\/p>\n
SCORE: New Zealand lead 46-36<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:54pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:54pm<\/p>\n
Aussies completely outplayed<\/p>\n
What is happen to the diamond s, They are getting punk by the kiwis , I had nz to win but this score is nuts <\/p>\n
– Kiwi magic <\/p>\n
Isn’t it crazy! Seems like there’s a lot of head noise for the Diamonds but we also know they haven’t won in NZ since 2021 and in Auckland apparently since 2019. There’s a serious hoodoo going on and good on New Zealand for showing up the way they have today. Backing up their gold medal in Glasgow.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:49pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:49pm<\/p>\n
Austin gain<\/p>\n
On the transverse line, Austin has a crack at a ball that was meant to reset the New Zealand attack. She sticks her hand out and deflects the ball into the clutches of Price. The Aussies convert the opportunity and edge another back with their next centre pass.<\/p>\n
SCORE: New Zealand lead 44-33<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:46pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:46pm<\/p>\n
Klau is on<\/p>\n
Sarah Klau’s inclusion in this match has divided netball fans but nonetheless she is on at GD with roughly five minutes left to go before the final break. Every single player for the Diamonds has now had a run on court.<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:44pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:44pm<\/p>\n
Offensive contact Garbin<\/p>\n
Things are just going from bad to worse for the Diamonds. They are scrambling. There are errors happening right across the court. It is not coherent netball. Garbin tries to push free and find some space off the body of Jackson but it’s spotted by the umpire.<\/p>\n
SCORE: New Zealand lead 42-27<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:41pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:41pm<\/p>\n
NZ score seven in a row<\/p>\n
We spoke to soon … New Zealand reassert themselves in the contest. Australia responds by re-injecting Austin in the game at GA to shoot alongside her Vixens teammate Garbin. Dwyer heads to the bench right before the halfway point of the quarter.<\/p>\n
SCORE: New Zealand lead 39-25<\/p>\n
Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:36pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 6:36pm<\/p>\n
Three in a row for Australia<\/p>\n
Can we mount a comeback? More changes have happened in the break to Australia’s line-up. Sophie Garbin gets her first minutes at goal shooter, while Price finally does move into centre sending the Aussie captain to the bench. They’re making a difference already as the Diamonds score three goals in a row to begin the third quarter.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, NZ have also tinkered with their team. They’re trialling some new options while they have such a big hold on the game. Kate Heffernan rolls into centre, where we’ve seen her dominate throughout the Super Netball season for the Adelaide Thunderbirds.\u00a0Reuelu-Buchanan is now in WD.\u00a0Selby-Rickit plays her first match for the Silver Ferns in years as she dons the GA bib.<\/p>\n
SCORE: New Zealand leads 32-25<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 8:23pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 8:23pm We’ll leave it there Okay, we’re going…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":932468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,356527,63,122931,9736,148848,588,85,9737],"class_list":["post-932467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-aussie-diamonds","tag-australia","tag-constellation-cup","tag-netball","tag-new-zealand-silver-ferns","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-womens-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=932467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/932468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=932467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=932467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=932467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}