AUSTRALIAN Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich cited an uncharacteristic flurry of unforced errors as one of the driving factors behind the Diamonds third straight Constellation Cup defeat.

But after the third loss Marinkovich was still adamant her players would put in a much-improved performance in the final match of the series at John Cain Arena on Wednesday and her team delivered an important 63-50 victory over the Silver Ferns in the final test of the series.

The defensive end was on fire from the starting whistle, with Courtney Bruce able to get hands to ball early on and continuing her ball-winning ways throughout the enticing clash.

But even with strong performances across the court early, it was the masterful move of Sunday Aryang into goal defence that proved crucial.

Aryang of Midland had an instant impact upon taking the court at the beginning of the second quarter and continuously shone from there.

In the first game an eye-watering match up between her fellow defender Courtney Bruce and the Silver Ferns’s goal shooter Grace Nweke was the one to watch.

After the second game in New Zealand, which the Diamonds lost 63-52 Marinkovich said the Diamonds, and other Australian defenders, would need to quickly adapt to the Nweke’s style of play, given the breadth of tall shooting talent in both the international and domestic game.

“There are so many tall and prominent shooters in a lot of international teams, so we get that challenge every time we step out,” she said.

“It’s not unfamiliar, she (Nweke) is playing very well and they’re certainly letting the ball go, so there is more work we have to do up the court to stop the release coming in so quick.”

“We’ve got to get our footwork right; we’ve got to get up to it. We’re on the body so our elevation isn’t there.

“It’s something the players will experience in the Suncorp Super Netball next year with pretty much every team having someone of that stature.

“We’ve got to look at our juniors and get the blend right and teach the skill of being able to do the full court team defence and also get the individual as well.”

In the third game the world champions managed just 17 goals in a poor second half showing at RAC Arena on Sunday night, as the Silver Ferns regained the Constellation Cup with a third successive win, running out 18-goal winners, 61-43.
It is just the third time in Constellation Cup history the Silver Ferns have won the trophy.

Speaking post-game, Marinkovich said the difference between the Diamonds best netball and their worst, was far too big.
“The gap between our good and our not so good is too great,” she said.

“I thought we took a step forward in terms of the energy in the way we got out there in the first half, but it’s the unforced errors and the repetitive nature of them.

“We lose a lot of energy and a lot of confidence quickly and we head into chase mode.

“Full credit to the Silver Ferns they’re playing exceptionally well and putting pressure on all over the court and it’s something we haven’t be able to bridge.”

Before the second game played in Auckland a heaving home crowd in Wellington set the tone for the opener to the 2024 Constellation Cup as the Silver Ferns ran away with a 64-50 win.