Constellation Cup 2023: Diamonds wary of wounded Ferns as netball series heads into game two
Courtney Bruce has a warning for her Diamonds teammates. Despite a big win in game one of the Constellation Cup, they must be wary of the wounded Silver Ferns.
Netball
Don't miss out on the headlines from Netball. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Defensive ace Courtney Bruce says the Diamonds remain on high alert for a Silver Ferns rebound heading into the second leg of the Constellation Cup despite Australia’s dominance in the series opener.
The Diamonds won the opening match of the four-game series 50-40 in Melbourne on Thursday night and the world champions can take a massive step towards retaining the trophy if they win game two in Brisbane on Sunday.
But Bruce, who won player of the match honours on Thursday, continuing the impressive form streak that saw her crowned defender of the tournament at the World Cup earlier this year, said fortunes could swing quickly as both teams made adjustments after their first clash in nine months.
The Diamonds erased a significant deficit in last year’s series after losing the first two games to go on to win back the Constellation Cup and Bruce wasn’t ruling out the Ferns believing they could make a turnaround of their own.
“We’re really aware of that,” Bruce said.
“They’ve got seasoned campaigners all over the court. You look at that defence end and then you’ve (got) Mils (Ameliaranne Ekenasio) at goal attack.
“Yes, they’ve got a few young girls out there but the Silver Ferns culture is extremely strong, so we knew that we weren’t going to be able to walk over them regardless if we were world champions, and that was something that Stace Marinkovich really hit home for us.
“The World Cup is done and dusted. That’s in the past now and we’re here to focus on the Con Cup and we have that strong rivalry with New Zealand.
“We know the Ferns always bounce back and regardless of what happened at World Cup or where they’re at, they always put their best foot forward when it comes to playing us.”
Bruce and her fellow defenders in particular, are determined to make life difficult for the Kiwis though.
The Diamonds defensive unit gave teen shooter Amelia Walmsley an idea of the raised intensity of trans-Tasman contests when Bruce, Jo Weston and Sarah Klau blanketed the two-Test goaler in her first match in Australia.
With Grace Nweke still rehabbing the knee injury that forced her out of the World Cup, Walmsley has come in as a tall, holding shooter and Bruce has been impressed.
“It’s crazy to think of the talent that New Zealand have,” she said.
“Grace is still so young and Walmsley’s only 19, so an absolute baby,” Bruce said.
“She held herself out there. I watched the England series and she definitely held herself against the England defenders too.
“And I thought that even in that third and fourth quarter, she offered a bit more movement rather than just the post-up option.
“So it was a good battle and I’m excited to hopefully play on her a bit more and learn each other’s game a little bit better.
“For a 19-year-old, I was very impressed.”
Bruce, who played at both goal keeper and goal defence in the series opener, marvelled at Australia’s depth – particularly in defence - something that allowed Sunday Aryang to play at wing defence on Thursday night and will be exposed further in the South Africa series when Thunderbird Matilda Garrett joins the squad.
“Tilly had a fantastic camp, so she’s very deserving of the opportunity to hopefully get to pull on the green and gold,” Bruce said.
“She’s had a great season and really performed in camp. And we’ve got Ruby (Bakewell-Doran) there and she’ll get an opportunity again soon and we had Ash (Ervin) in camp too, so there are really strong defensive stocks and some really young players coming through … so it’s very exciting for the Diamonds defence in future.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Constellation Cup 2023: Diamonds wary of wounded Ferns as netball series heads into game two
The First Nations program saving netball talents from footy raiders
Tierrah Miller is one of five potential debutants for the Black Swans in their PacificAus Netball Series after her footy defection was halted by the First Nations program.
Super Netball 2025: Local star joins Fever as sides shuffle players
West Coast Fever have named Caitlyn Brown as a training partner as teams continue to shuffle their lists due to injury and maternity leave as the pre-season gets underway.