Constellation Cup: Five things we’re talking about ahead of Diamonds-Silver Ferns series
Australia heads to Wellington ahead of its Constellation Cup opener, with the Ferns smarting from a series loss to England. Here’s what the Diamonds would have learnt from those games.
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The Diamonds head to New Zealand on Wednesday ahead of the opening match of the Constellation Cup in Wellington this Sunday, where they will attempt to overcome their recent hoodoo across the ditch.
England used last month’s series against the Diamonds as the perfect springboard to upset world no.2 New Zealand in their Taini Jamison Trophy series earlier this month.
As Australia prepare for the opening match of their four-Test Constellation Cup series, we look at what the Roses’ 2-1 series win tells us about the Silver Ferns and what Diamonds coaching staff will be mulling over in the next week.
WAS IT AN UPSET?
The Roses headed off on their tour of Australia and New Zealand ranked no.3 in the world but as the World Cup finalists, with a win against the Diamonds on their way to the decider and wins against the Ferns at the Netball Nations Cup earlier this year and on their last tour to New Zealand, they were always expected to present a massive challenge to the teams down under.
Their results against the Diamonds and Silver Ferns - one win in the three-match series against Australia and a 2-1 series win in New Zealand - could see them step up to no.2 when the next rankings are released.
With their Super League 2.0 starting next year and a stated ambition to become the best league in the world, the sleeping giant of world netball is waking and determined to make waves.
CONCERNS FOR FERNS?
England has had the wood over the Ferns recently, winning their Netball Nations Cup clash in England at the start of the year and their semi-final clash at the World Cup last year.
And while they snared the Taini Jamison Trophy 2-1 earlier this month by winning the first two games, the series was actually a tie on goal aggregate unlike the recent series in Australia where the Roses’ two losses were by double digit margins. It points to a slim margin between the Roses and Ferns, meaning the Aussies cannot assume an easy ride against their trans-Tasman rivals despite their supposed woes.
Midcourter Claire O’Brien and defender Parris Mason made their Ferns debuts against the Roses, while Kimiora Poi made her return after a two-year absence and all will be better for their runs in the lead-up to the Constellation Cup. Phoenix Karaka missed the series against England with illness but is expected back to face the Diamonds.
Dame Noeline Taurua, who retained her position as New Zealand coach earlier this year after going through a recruitment process she insisted on, is a canny and ever-evolving coach and will have her troops ready for the Aussies.
ALL HANDS ON DECK
New Zealand’s increasingly controversial policy of not allowing those playing outside the country to be considered for Silver Ferns selection may not be quite the barrier it once was to those looking for opportunities outside the country - certainly not in years that do not feature a benchmark tournament. The Diamonds will face the might of star shooter Grace Nweke in the Constellation Cup but her departure for Super Netball and the NSW Swifts next season will mean she is not available for national selection in 2025. Her defection - even if just for one season - has plenty watching with interest and could open the floodgates for others to follow in the next contracting period, in what could be a major issue for the Ferns.
While they are undoubtedly still a major force in the game, New Zealand do not boast the depth of either Australia or England and if their top players look elsewhere for professional opportunities, it could affect the Ferns’ results in the long term if players going offshore continue to be ineligible for national selection. It’s another reason the governing bodies in Australia and New Zealand need to come up with some sort of compromise for an expanded Super Netball - either with the addition of Kiwi teams, or the free flow of players.
AUSTRALIA’S RECORD IN NZ
The Diamonds have collected every major trophy in world netball in the past three years, winning the Quad Series, Constellation Cup, Netball Nations Cup as well as the sport’s benchmark competitions with the Commonwealth Games gold and World Cup.
But what they haven’t been able to do is win consistently in New Zealand. Or, more accurately, at all since 2021 when they snared a single win in the 3-1 series loss in Christchurch, the hub for the four-match Covid-impacted series, in coach Stacey Marinkovich’s debut series. Covid had already forced the rescheduling of the 2020 tournament, with two series meant to be held in 2021 but the latter of those was also canned due to the closure of the trans-Tasman travel bubble.
Australia regained the trophy in 2022 but only on goal aggregate after losing both matches in New Zealand and lost again last year in Invercargill and Auckland, heaping pressure on Sunday’s series opener in Wellington. The Diamonds do have the benefit of veteran defenders Jo Weston and Courtney Bruce returning though, adding starch to an already impressive line-up.
FUTURE FOR DIAMONDS?
The Diamonds won their series against England but it really told us little about the team heading into the next benchmark tournaments at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and home World Cup in Sydney in 2027. While three debutants were part of the Aussie squad, only defender Rudi Ellis got the call-up to play, hitting the court for just a few minutes in each of the first two Tests.
Defender Ash Ervin did not see any court time and has not been included in the Con Cup squad, while Hannah Mundy, the dynamic Vixens midcourter who won a squad call-up earlier in the year, was not included in either the Roses or Constellation Cup squads.
South Australian playmaker Georgie Horjus, who was in the squad for the Roses series but did not debut, has been included for the Constellation Cup and could make her first Test appearance this series.
Marinkovich is adamant gold dresses are hard won and not handed out. That’s an admirable policy but makes it hard to ensure the squad has both depth and international experience going forward. At some stage, the Diamonds bosses need to risk a loss - even a series loss - to allow for the bigger picture development that may ensure a home World Cup win in 2027.
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Originally published as Constellation Cup: Five things we’re talking about ahead of Diamonds-Silver Ferns series
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