Constellation Cup: Absence of crowd to help Diamonds against Silver Ferns

Out of quarantine, the Diamonds are ready to meet the Silver Ferns at an empty Christchurch venue on Tuesday.

New Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

The Diamonds hope to use the absence of spectators to their much-needed advantage against the Silver Ferns in Tuesday’s opening Constellation Cup series match in Christchurch.

Due COVID-19’s emergence in the community and a change of alert levels around New Zealand, all games of the series will now be played in Christchurch.

In addition, all matches will be closed to the public, taking away the prospect of an intense and parochial atmosphere the New Zealanders would have thrived on.

It should prove a blessing for the Australians, who only got out of a two-week hotel quarantine on Monday and perhaps won’t be as well prepared as the hosts for the series opener.

“Hopefully playing with no crowds will mean the Silver Ferns won’t have any home-ground advantage,” Diamonds defender Jo Weston said.

“Hopefully it helps us. I played a few games last year in the (Super Netball) Queensland hub without crowds and you do have to create your own energy out there on the court.

“As defenders, for us it’s all about partnerships and communication out on the court, so I’m personally looking forward to that and we’ve got not excuse if there’s no background noise.”

Diamonds star Jo Weston (right) and the Silver Ferns’ Ameliaranne Ekenasio will renew rivalries in Christchurch. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

While Weston vowed the Diamonds’ performance on Tuesday would an effort to make Australians proud, she believed her team would get better as the series progressed because of recent training restrictions and adjusting to life under new coach Stacey Marinkovich.

“Having the opportunity to work on combinations against an opposition is always a big benefit to us,” the Melbourne Vixens star said.

“We’ve been playing internal match play against each other but New Zealand does play a different style of netball to what we would put out against each other, so with time it will give us a space to adjust to those different styles and strategies, and what players will do out on court for the Silver Ferns.”

Having elected not to name a captain for the series as part of a leadership overhaul, Marinkovich will on Tuesday announced who will lead the Diamonds for the opening game of the series.

“There has been some commentary from Stacey about where she sees the leadership going for our Diamonds group, and it’s been a really collaborative process,” Weston said.

“There are so many new coaches and new squad members, so it’s nice to have a rejig of a program for those of us who have been in the system for a little while.

“All of us have some kind of leadership aspirations. We all aspire to throw our hats in the ring for.

“I am the most experienced defender in our group at the moment so with that comes a leadership position even if it isn’t one that’s given a label.”