Silver Ferns take Game 1 - Constellation Cup

Photo courtesy of Radiosport.co.nz

Last night the Silver Ferns won the opening game of the Constellation Cup beating the Australian Diamonds 55-51.

Courtney Tairi was given the WA bib in her test match debut and had a steady performance in the cauldron of fire against one of the toughest WDs in the game in Renae Hallinan. At times her drive was lacking but she created space for Langman to dominate the outside of the goal circle and had some steady feeds into IVD and Tutaia.

At halftime Silver Ferns coach Waimarama Taumanu rung the changes and brought Tactix captain Anna Thompson into the WA bib for Tairi. Thompson brings a different game to Tairi but settled into her work better than many expected. It did take a little while for her to adjust to the intensity and pace of the game but again had some solid feeds into our goalers. 

Maria Tutaia and IVD's combination seems to be getting better each time the duo steps out on the court, it seems that the influence of new Silver Ferns assistant coach Vicki Wilson is being seen in the early stages of the competition; Throughout the game we saw Tutaia looking into IVD more than previous encounters with the shooting circle showing plenty of variety, both the holding game and the moving goal circle was seen which kept the Aussie defenders constantly guessing.

Again questions are being raised as to the strange lineup that Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander started the game with. In the GD bib she opted for Bec Bulley over Bianca Chatfield and at the end of the first quarter she had given away 7 penalties and was doing a pretty average job containing Tutaia. As I expected Lisa started Adelaide Thunderbirds GA Erin Bell, a player who on paper would be the logical choice. However in the few games she has played against the Silver Ferns, tends to go missing and has yet to bring her ANZC game to the international arena. It was mentioned in commentary that Nat Medhurst was carrying a foot injury, but when she was injected into the game in the 4th quarter, the space that was created allowed more ball to be fead into Bassett, a big part of the Aussies comeback.

It was fantastic to see Joline Henry back on the court just 8 months after the birth of her first child. With both Kayla Cullen and Anna Harrison unavailable for the series, Henry is a lone ranger in the WD bib but did a fantastic job shutting down Madison Browne and as a result she was benched at the end of the first quarter. Her through court attacking play with Casey Kopua was once again strong and she finished the game with 3 intercepts.

The umpiring, as expected left a sour taste with once again the neutral umpires not being up to the match standard and having varying interpretations to what the players are used to in the ANZC. Yes, it is a common occurrence in the test series between New Zealand and Australia that we don't get the luxury of our own umpires, but surely the time has come to re-asses this option. Not only should the top level of netball be umpired by the top umpires for the players sake but also for the umpires. Why shouldn't they get the top games if they are deemed to be the best in the world.

With this being said the Aussies did not adjust to the whistle and the contact calls from both of the match officials. It was clearly shown in the first quarter with 7 mins remaining, the penalty count was 15 - 5 in favor of the Diamonds. New Captain Laura Geitz failed to adjust throughout the match and was the highest penalised player on court finishing the match with 19. As a team this will need to be rectified for the remaining test matches to give themselves a chance at winning they cannot afford to be penalised out of the game.

The Ferns put their foot down in the final quarter, leading the Diamonds at one stage by a whopping 11 goals, but almost as quickly the lead disappeared and once again the Silver Ferns managed to cough up the lead, holding on to take out the game by 4 goals. While one big positive was that our girls held their nerve and saw off the Aussie onslaught, it has to questioned once again why our girls seem to let slip a sizable lead on to many occasions.

Overall it was a pass mark from our Ferns and a good platform to start the international season with a win.

Test 2 will surely see an increase in the intensity from both sides and hopefully more court time for Tairi in the WA position to see a valuable backup to Millie Lees is solidified. 

What did you think of the game?