Diamonds claim victory against NZ in final Constellation Cup match

The Diamonds have won their final Constellation Cup* test match against New Zealand after losing every other game in the series.

Australia’s embattled* netball team rebounded to claim a 63-50 victory over the Silver Ferns in the fourth and final test between the two teams in Melbourne on Wednesday night.

Historically*, Australia has remained the dominant team between the two, after winning the Constellation Cup in 2010. Despite this, New Zealand has won the past three series before claiming the 2024 cup.

Not wanting to lose every test match in the 2024 series, the Aussies clearly had the fire in the belly from the opening quarter and were encouraged by a cheering home crowd in the packed-out John Cain Arena.

Led by a stunning shooting display from goalshooter Sophie Garbin, who scored 36 goals at 100 per cent, the Diamonds fought back from Sunday’s disastrous 18-goal loss in Perth that had secured the Silver Ferns the series with an unbeatable 3-0 series lead.

It helped that the Silver Ferns had also started the match with their star shooter Grace Nweke on the bench, while the Diamonds shifted Kate Moloney to starting centre for the first time in the series.

The two teams were matched goal for goal early on in the game, until the Silver Ferns shot four goals ahead thanks to powerful defensive work.

A spectacular intercept* from Diamonds veteran goalkeeper Courtney Bruce saw Australia narrow the lead to two, and then a loose ball intercept by Moloney evened the scores.

The Diamonds were one goal up with seconds to go, but a final Hail Mary* from the visitors levelled the scores 15-all at the first break.

The Silver Ferns brought Nweke into the action in the second term, but for the first time this series the Australians fired on all cylinders, with a stunning Sunday Aryang intercept in the goal circle* helping the Diamonds take a six-goal advantage into the halftime break and a 32-26 lead.

Garbin and goal attack Kiera Austin helped Australia extend the lead to nine early in the second half, the pair showing just how good the Diamonds could be. It was a strong reminder of the team’s series win over England last month and fitting of their world No. 1 ranking.

“We were so disappointed in the three games we had prior,” Austin said.

“We needed to get back to what we know best, enjoying the netball that we play.

“That’s the brand of netball that we play and it’s probably the first time we’ve seen it in that series.”

The matchup between Nweke and Bruce developed into the highlight of the day, the pair becoming visibly heated in the goal circle as Australia managed to find a way to contain the towering Kiwi superstar.

Australia carried an 11-goal margin* into the final term with a 48-37 lead.

The Silver Ferns made some key changes at the break but it was not enough to change the course of the game.

New Zealand managed to bring back the margin to seven but messy defence and a held ball from the Silver Ferns helped extend the Diamonds’ lead to 10 goals with three minutes remaining.

A final intercept from star defender Aryang saw the Diamonds score an extra couple of goals late for a 13-point victory.

It was a strong end to a disappointing series for Australia and the first significant series or tournament defeat under Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich.

“Huge, what we said was that this was a moment to set where we wanted the direction to go, and I think that’s really important,” Marinkovich said after the game.

“We don’t have an international game for quite some time now, we’ve got a camp in January so we wanted to make sure that we take learnings, but understand what our performance really looked like.

“The tenacity* of the girls, we chased down the loose balls, we were first to it which we had been lacking … we just relaxed and just played and you could tell that they were enjoying it.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• Constellation Cup: an international netball competition between Australia and New Zealand where the teams play against each other in four test matches
• embattled: experiencing problems
• historically: in the past
• intercept: when a player regains possession of the ball during a pass by the opposition
• hail Mary: a last-ditch attempt with little hope of success
• goal circle: a semicircle at each end of the court with a centre at the midpoint of the goal line
• margin: the difference in score between each team
• held ball: if a player has possession of the ball for longer than three seconds, this results in a free pass for the opposition
• tenacity: being very determined

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QUICK QUIZ
1. How many of the four test matches in this year’s Constellation Cup did the Diamonds win?
2. Which two countries compete against each other in the Constellation Cup?
3. By how many points did the Diamonds win?
4. What year was the first Constellation Cup held?
5. What is the name of the Diamonds coach?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Why is enjoyment important?
Keira Austin said that, in order to win, the Diamonds had to get back to enjoying their netball. Why do you think that enjoying the game helped them to win? Write sentences explaining your thoughts on this question.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

2. Extension
Rewrite the story. The purpose of your new story is to help kids understand what a great team, and great sports, the Silver Ferns are.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.

Think about:

• What is the main topic or idea?
• What is an important or interesting fact?
• Who was involved (people or places)?

Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.