Kelly Jackson and Karin Burger produced a commanding display. The Australian shooters finished at 82% collectively and looked uncharacteristically rattled. They struggled to convert over Jackson’s trademark lean; the Kiwi goal keep finishing with eight gains.
Burger’s movement forced numerous miscommunications for the Diamonds, with passes sailing out of bounds and getting picked off.
Kelly Jackson battles Australia’s Cara Koenen for the ball at Spark Arena. Photo / Photosport
The Silver Ferns punished the Diamonds’ errors, scoring with increasing speed and accuracy as the game wore on. Kiwi goal shoot Grace Nweke shot 40/41, accompanied by the efforts of Georgia Heffernan, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Amelia Walmsley.
“Really good first hit out,” captain Burger told Sky Sport. “We’ve got a few things to work on, considering we let a little bit of a lead slip.
“But we got lots of our girls out there. If this is the calibre of what our core group looks like, watch out the next three games.
“We’ve been working really hard, strength and conditioning wise. We’re working to everyone’s strengths and that means we can adapt how we need to.
“It showed in that game.”
The Diamonds struggled with the Ferns’ general height advantage across the court. The Ferns’ midcourt improved in speed and accuracy throughout the contest and made life difficult for their Aussie counterparts.
Dame Noeline Taurua altered her starting lineup slightly from Glasgow, with Kimiora Poi starting at wing attack in place of Mila Reuelu-Buchanan with Kate Heffernan and Maddy Gordon in the midcourt.
The New Zealand defence started hot, with Jackson and Burger forcing a held ball on the just the third play. Jackson repeated the effort by forcing another turnover a few minutes later, with Burger following suit with an athletic tip, seeing the Ferns out to an 8-4 lead.
The Kiwis lacked true ruthlessness up the attacking end, with Nweke and Georgia Heffernan spilling speculative feeds over the baseline.
Some aggressive but legal defence from Burger saw Aussie shooter Cara Koenan lose her feet and a would-be feed sail out of bounds. Diamonds goal attack Kiera Austin had real issues shooting over Jackson, eventually finishing 3/6 in the opening stanza. Suddenly, the Ferns’ lead was six.
The first quarter damage was done. The sides went blow-for-blow for the remainder of the quarter, which finished 15-10.
The Diamonds started the second quarter with a major communication breakdown. After they failed to feed the circle, Koenan fired a long pass across court and out of bounds. Up the other end, Poi and Gordon shook off any initial rust with confident feeds to Nweke, who was ruthless in extending the lead to eight goals.
Australia made two changes. Jessie Grenvold subbed in at goal keep with Courtney Bruce sliding to goal defence for Tilly Garrett. Sophie Dwyer then joined the contest at goal attack for Austin.
Dwyer immediately encountered the same issue as Austin, with Jackson blocking her first attempt and gaining possession.
Kate Heffernan made her first big pay of the match, picking off a pass intended for Aussie wing attack Georgie Horjus. Jackson then reeled in another intercept, with Australia starting to flounder.
Grace Nweke scores for the Silver Ferns in the first Constellation Cup test against Australia. Photo / Photosport
New Zealand’s centre pass-to-score speed was killing Australia. Georgia Heffernan fired a feed from the centre third into Nweke, and Koenan had her fifth miss on the next play, allowing the Ferns’ lead to grow to 10. The Ferns went into halftime leading 32-22, with a 17-12 second quarter triumph.
Selby-Rickit returned to the black dress after the break, subbing into goal attack for Georgia Heffernan. Reuelu-Buchanan swapped into wing defence, with Kate Heffernan shifting to centre and Gordon to wing attack for Poi.
New Zealand started the third quarter with an error whilst feeding the circle, allowing the Diamonds the first three goals.
In typical fashion, Burger helped the Ferns claw back some ascendancy with a trademark deflection. Kate Heffernan on Diamonds centre Jami-Lee Price forced an Aussie error, and Jackson followed it up with another blocked shot.
Yet another communication breakdown in the Australian shooting circle kept New Zealand in control. In contrast, the Ferns showed patience and composure while working the ball around the court, scoring seven consecutive goals.
Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich brought Sarah Klau in to stop the bleeding at goal defence. While the Ferns slowed, they still won the third quarter 13-11, giving them a 45-33 overall lead.
New Zealand shelled a couple of early turnovers in the fourth quarter, but their skipper remained a constant supply of defelections. There were a couple of tired-looking errors, including a Burger drop and Nweke’s first miss, with the Ferns’ accuracy levels dipping.
The Ferns’ lead allowed Taurua to inject hometown favourite Walmsley into goal attack, who shook off some early nerves to 3/4. Stythe also came into goal keep for Jackson, holding her own against Sophie Garbin.
The Aussies dominated the fourth quarter 17-11, but it will feel little consolation heading into game two.
The Silver Ferns host the Australian Diamonds in the second test in Christchurch on Wednesday.
Silver Ferns 56 (Nweke 40/41, Selby-Rickit 7/9, Heffernan 6/8, Walmsley 3/4)
Australian Diamonds 50 (Garbin 20/21, Koenen 17/22, Austin 10/14, Dwyer 3/4)
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.