Constellation Cup netball live updates: Diamonds vs Silver Ferns in Christchurch

45 seconds on the clock and Moloney comes in for a challenge late on Heffernan in the middle third. Heffernan hits the deck and Moloney loses her footing. It’s Australia’s 19th contact for the quarter. That’s quite high!

Two minutes left in the quarter. Garbin misses a shot at goal from right underneath the post but recovers. First to the rebound and gets it on the second attempt.

SCORE: New Zealand lead 14-11

Watson tried to take a pass on the far sideline in Australia’s goal third but landed with a foot out of court. It gives the Silver Ferns an extra opportunity and although they had to work really hard in transition this time, with Australia’s defence upping its workrate, Nweke ends up adding another to their tally.

SCORE: New Zealand lead 12-9

Grenvold was first to ball, getting a touch on it as both players went up in the air, but Nweke was able to pull it in with two hands and converts for the Silver Ferns.

SCORE: New Zealand lead 8-6

Pushing off the body of Jackson, the Australian goal shooter draws the eye of the umpire and New Zealand break the centre pass for the first time in this game.

SCORE: New Zealand lead 5-4

Bad hands from Nweke! Toeava sent in long feed way off circle edge and it bounced out of the goal shooter’s hands. Great work hedging off the body of the target by Grenvold. She’s confusing the space and putting pressure on Nweke. Here’s an opportunity for Australia.

Alas, as they head up the other end Heffernan intercepts a pass from Watson in the goal third and we see a very quick transition from the Silver Ferns. That was a strength about their game on Sunday. The hosts recover to score their centre pass.

SCORE: Level 3-all

Nweke answers at the other end for the Kiwis.

SCORE: Level 1-all

Warm-ups done. Anthems done. Huddles done.

Let’s get this party started in Christchurch!

AUSTRALIA

The good news for Diamonds fans is that vice-captain Kate Moloney returns to the line-up after recovering from the finger laceration that kept her out of Game 1. Without Moloney in the team, there was a midcourt shuffle. Captain Liz Watson filled her spot at centre and Georgie Horjus was given the wing attack bib. They lacked punch up the middle and Watson ended the game on the bench. It wasn’t ideal.

Many — including us — thought Jamie-Lee Price would have been a better choice to start at centre. Price had a cracking Super Netball season in that position with the Melbourne Mavericks. The bad news is, she’s unavailable tonight with a calf injury.

The other change is goal shooter Donnell Wallam replaces Cara Koenen in the team. Wallam has never played against New Zealand before and last played for the Diamonds at the 2024 Nations Cup. Last year she was only an invitee at camp and missed out on a national contract, so this is a huge boost for her career! Wallam is the tallest shooting option for Australia at 193cm tall and definitely has the X-Factor. With a basketball background, she has a unique playing style. Koenen was shaky throughout the Constellation Cup opener and finished with 77 per cent accuracy, so it make sense to try something different.

NEW ZEALAND

Just one change for the Silver Ferns. Head coach Noeline Taurua has omitted Kimiora Poi (30+ caps) and added Peta Toeava (15 caps). It’s a bold choice, as Poi was part of the team’s gold-medal-winning Commonwealth Games team. She started in wing attack in Game 1 and played 38 minutes but Taurua has also spoken about trying to find the balance throughout this series of giving opportunity to less experienced players in preparation for next year’s World Cup and winning each game. Toeava has a brilliant connection with Grace Nweke that developed during their time playing at the Northern Mystics. Giving that connection more time to build at an international level could be beneficial down the track.

Head coach Stacey Marinkovich is hoping for a better start from her team in game two, after Australia fell behind by as many as 15 goals in Auckland and only managed to claw the scoreboard back to 56-50 in the final quarter once the opposition brought on their bench players.

The biggest area they struggled was in the goal circle. Whether it was feeding the shooters or going for goal, the Silver Ferns were continuously able to steal ball and intimidate using their long arms over the shot. Marinkovich trialled almost every shooting option she had except running Georgie Horjus at GA. The pocket rocket remained at WA for the entire match.  Sophie Garbin lifted Australia’s accuracy when she came on after the half-time break, landing 20 of her 21 attempts.

Meanwhile, defender Jessie Grenvold impressed on debut, becoming Diamond #198 when she was injected in the second quarter and topped the gain stat for her team with once intercept, four deflections and one pickup across 43 minutes of playing time. You can read more about the game at the link below.

A reminder that Australia hasn’t won a Test on New Zealand soil for five years. There is a serious home crowd advantage in this series, with both sides struggling to get over the line in opposition territory. Seeing as they play at different venues for each Test, it really speaks to power fans have while cheering for their team!