The Diamonds have shrugged off a week dominated by the Super Netball pay dispute to beat New Zealand by 10 points and take a 1-0 lead in the Constellation Cup.
Key points:
- The Diamonds take a 1-0 lead in the series over New Zealand with a 50-40 victory
- Brief power outages left the court in darkness with seven minutes left in the third quarter
- The second game of the series is at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday
A scoring blitz at the start of the second quarter set Australia on their way and they held a young Silver Ferns side at bay to claim a 50-40 victory in Melbourne.
Not even brief power outages, with the court twice left in darkness with seven minutes left in the third quarter, could stop the slick-passing Diamonds.
The victory came after the world champions’ build-up to the series opener was overshadowed by the breakdown in collective player agreement negotiations between Super Netball players and Netball Australia (NA).
It boiled over on Monday night via sparring statements from the Australian Netball Players Association and NA.
The Diamonds got down to business on Thursday night.
Courtney Bruce was player of the match after she started at goal keeper and dominated young Silver Ferns goal shooter Amelia Walmsley (21/25), before shifting into goal defence.
Melbourne Vixens centre Kate Moloney came on late in the first quarter after a knee injury scare to Paige Hadley, and provided energy that took Australia up a level.
Kiera Austin (22/27) and Cara Koenen (27/31) proved a slick pairing in Stacey Marinkovich’s attack, while New Zealand captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio (17/20) was busy.
Bruce set the tone when, with Australia leading 10-8, she pulled off a massive intercept with three minutes left in the first quarter.
Just before quarter-time, Hadley was clutching her left knee after NZ centre Maddy Gordon fell on her.
Moloney replaced Hadley, who Netball Australia said had been cleared of injury.
Home-town favourite Moloney, who was a reserve at the World Cup, upped the tempo almost immediately.
Leading 12-10 at quarter-time after a Koenen buzzer-beater, the Australians exploded out of the break and quickly powered out to a six-point lead.
Austin looked comfortable with Moloney feeding her the ball, and continued to give the New Zealand defence headaches as the Diamonds nudged out to a nine-point lead at the main break.
New Zealand responded after half-time and were able to outscore Australia 14-11 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six (40-34) at three-quarter time.
But the Diamonds never seriously looked under threat and closed out the game in professional fashion.
The second game of the series is at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday.
AAP