Australia v New Zealand gold medal battle tipped for Commonwealth Games
AUSTRALIAN captain Caitlin Bassett predicts the Commonwealth Games will be a battle between the Diamonds and Silver Ferns.
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AUSTRALIAN netball captain Caitlin Bassett is forecasting it will be the Diamonds and Silver Ferns fighting over the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
England and South Africa might be on the improve but the Australian sharpshooter still believes it will be Australia and New Zealand in the main game at the Games.
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Australia and New Zealand have this month been involved in an engrossing battle for the Constellation Cup, which concluded on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney with Australia’s 4-0 win.
Both sides have continued to experiment with their lines during the annual series but have also made it clear how serious they have taken the contests.
These matches have given Bassett the intel to predict Australia’s old nemesis will remain their chief foes on the Gold Coast.
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“I still think it will be us and them,’’ Bassett said.
“England (who beat New Zealand last month in the Quad series) have improved immensely and so have South Africa (who beat England in the Quad series).
“But I think Australia and New Zealand still have the experience to get through.’’
Since netball was added to the Games program in 1998, every final has been contested between the current No. 1 and No. 2 sides.
New Zealand have won twice — in 2006 and 2010 — while defending champions Australia won netball gold in 1998, 2002 and 2018.
The four-game Constellation Cup has doubled as an audition for Australian players wanting to make the 12-strong team to compete on the Gold Coast.
Coach Lisa Alexander says she wants to be pretty close to knowing the makeup of the Commonwealth Games by the end of the Constellation Cup, although there is wriggle room for players to force their way in during the Quad Series in January.
“I think what you will see is we will get the data from this series and that will have a big effect on who is chosen.”