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Paige has been below par. I thought she should have been dropped and Moloney kept in. When Cath Cox commented that JLP and Dwyer had dropped their shoulders in the 4th quarter I thought they could have done with Moloney. She never gives up. Really think it is time to bring fresh players through now. Mundy and Williams in the mid court as a start.
A lot of the Australian team seem tired and a number of them have niggles. Koenen is definitely one of them and she was completely out of sorts tonight and to be honest, she hasn’t really made the most of the opportunities she’s had recently.
I think the Ellis trial can be put to bed. That style of play will not go unnoticed by international umpires and some of her plays were outright dangerous.
If Koenen isn’t fit, do they risk having only 1 true GS? Or do they throw caution to the wind and bring Lucy Austin in for some exposure?
I agree that these loses are symptomatic of the Diamonds unwillingness to blood new players. A new cycle begins the second the WC ends, but the Diamonds have been using basically the same squad that won them the WC (obviously down Fretwell). What’s the point of using the exact same squad for every single series? A lot of the players on court are already 30+, and are they going to be able to make it to WC? Even if they do, are they still going to be in their physical prime? Some of them seemed to be past that in this series.
I was frustrated both this and last year to see no change up in the centre court. Why keep taking Watson, Hadley, Moloney and Price? Why not rest Watson or Hadley and bring over Horjus, Williams or Mundy? I don’t see a place for both Moloney and Price in the squad, Aryang can do WD and Watson and Hadley can do C, so there’s no need for both Moloney and Price.
I also have an issue with the selections this year. Klau had an average SSN, as did Bruce (although due to injury). Ellis had a decent year, but Ervin was far more stellar. Weston seemed to be managing an injury (again) and couldn’t make 60 mins. IMO if you can’t make a 60 min game, you shouldn’t be part of the game day 12. Not at international level. Should have gone with Garret and let Weston recover properly.
The Silver Ferns have won the Constellation Cup for just the third time after beating Australia 61-43 in the third Test in Perth.
It is also the first time since 2006 that the Silver Ferns have beaten the Diamonds three games in a row.https://t.co/naQRRIu4jg— Bridget Tunnicliffe (@bridgettunni) October 27, 2024
Where was Deb Fuller tonight? I hope she had a genuine reason for not being there. It feels like she picks and chooses which tours she wants to go on.
I’m not sure Wallam would’ve been the answer. Kelly plays her best netball against a holding shooter.
I don’t understand the hype for Ellis to be included. The Bruce Klau combo was better, it was slowing the play down.
Though I think what really gave the Ferns the edge was when JLP moved into C, Poi was free from that point on.I thought Garbin, did a great tagging role in the minute she was on, definitely needs more court time to develop.
Australia’s attacking centre and shooting end is stale. Georgie was a breath of fresh air, her cuts and drives was something different and her feeds were good and thoughtful.
Dwyer, did okay for the most of the game, but she tends to get overworked, and it resorts into turnovers.
Garbin needs to stand up, she needs to be the boss girl of the circle.
Koenen can’t preform without Steph.
Speaking of Steph, we need someone cool calm collected in the circle, Dwyer and Austin crumble under pressure.
Could Georgie be the answer in Ga? But I think we need her in WA as Watson’s predecessor.Armchair I agree with you, they shouldn’t have stuck with the World Cup winning team. Nations cup was the time to bring new players in but they failed to do so.
JLP is important but I aus can go without Weston, she can be replaced with Garret younger and same style.
Hadley can be dropped for Mundy or Williams.Horjus, Dwyer, and Garret need more game time not crumbs. Glad we saw more Dwyer though, but they should keep with that to help give her experience.
Though I’d love to see Frew get a call up I think she may be a diamond in the making.This series is concerning for Australia, but I’m not really that worried about the midcourt and shooting circles. There is a global shortage of good GAs right now, and I expect over the next few years both Dwyer and Austin will grow into the role. Watson and Hadley looked very panicked in the second half today, but there is a lot of talent coming through and I am sure they will bounce back.
The areas I’m more concerned about are GS and the defence end. It hasn’t helped that Ervin hasn’t been picked, but I’ve never seen the Australian defensive end so ineffective. I think we’ve seen the best of Weston, Klau is in an underrated slump, Garrett still has a fair way to go and Bruce still seems quite off the pace. I also think Garbin and Koenen are far too inconsistent compared to some of the other GSs out there. It’s hard to know if she would be interested, but I would definitely be looking at Nelson if she was. She would easily beat Jackson in the air and I doubt would have the same issues with the hands over.
NZ need to build their team around Nweke, Ekenasio, Gordon and Jackson. If they don’t have all four of those players firing I don’t think they’re winning these matches, especially the shooters and Jackson. It will be very interesting to see what NNZ decides with regards to Nweke next year.
Has NZ EVER beaten Australia NZ by 10+/15+ goals three games in a row?
Such a comprehensive series victory for the Ferns, and huge turnaround after their series loss to England.
Really hope the Ferns will give their bench a run in game 4, Amelia Walmsley in particular.
No doubt Australia will reflect, regroup and come back stronger – unsure whether they can bring players in who weren’t named in their initial roster or not?
To be honest, as a Diamonds fan I’m not entirely sure this series was lost at the selection table. I’m not sure any group of girls selected would have been good enough to beat a Ferns team playing superb and cohesive netball.
That said, there were definitely selection issues from the start and that did not put this Diamonds team in the best position to succeed. Players selected on the back of strong SSN campaigns seemed to be afterthoughts in Marinkoviches game plans, such as Horjus Ellis and Garrett.
A number of players seemed to be either wholly unfit or just plain underdone. Jo Weston is a terrific player but I’m not how her selection for the New Zealand tour was ever countenanced. Koenen looks nowhere near match fit; Bruce looks, perhaps not unsurprisingly, a long way from her best.
The Armchair Coach seems to have forgotten Ash Brazill existed. Indeed Ash started the WC final whilst Steph Fretwell (nee Wood) actually came off the bench. Their general point that the squad looks stale is likely valid though. Selectors just appear to have foisted a group of SSN players upon Marinkovich that she las little or no use for allied to a number of her trusted players being simply not match fit. The net result is Australia has looked short of options at both ends of the floor.
If Ervin had been selected for instance would she have been integrated into the game plan or sat at the end of the bench ala Horjus or Ellis? Ruby Bakewell Doran had a disappointing SSN campaign. But so did Sophie Dwyer who has been selected and played. RBD would have been a far better selection for team balance than some other names who did make it.
But does this fiddling at the margins make a difference to the outcome? Not to my mind really. I think that Ferns team is 3-0 up no matter whom we’d pocked in honesty. They’ve been that good.
SFs have been playing great netball. The margin is what is most surprising. Australia also look really tired.
The comment from Medhurst in the broadcast about having some mongrel and also not dropping your shoulders really resonated with me.
I agree McLeod, there were times I just wanted them to shoot and then it was passed around and lost.
Burger is certainly showing why she should be in the circle, not WD. Jackson has height enough for both of them.
Interesting times. Very curious to see how things play out in Melbourne.
Test series aren’t wholly about winning, it’s the chance to bring through new players and try new combinations.
I would be fine seeing Aus lose these series if they had brought in new players, and not just shoving them in once already down in the hope they pull off a miracle.
NZ has been playing great netball, and I don’t think anyone can take that away from them. Aus probably would have lost no matter the squad, but at least some up and comers would have been given the chance to develop at this level, as opposed to watching some veterans get flogged when it’s questionable they’ll even be around at the next WC.
I doubt Ash Brazills retirement has cost Aus much. Sure she played great at WC, but the point still remains that the majority of that WC squad is the majority of what we had for the England series and the Con Cup. Which at the end of the day isn’t good planning for the next WC.
Brazill departure has affected Australia greatly AC, so that is an odd call. This seems obvious has she has not been adequately replaced, not has any player made the WD Diamonds dress her own.
IMO the time to try out new combinations is definitely not a Constellation Cup series against a serious Silver Ferns team. The series against the also transitioning Roses was the opportunity to freshen the group up, but Marinkovich failed to use it.
Other than Ervin I can’t think of another “up and comer” that would warrant selection. Frew would have been an interesting bolter, but the lack of use of Ellis, Horjus and Garrett points to a lack of trust from the Dimaonds coach in the players she’s being given.
“A lot of the players on court are already 30+, and are they going to be able to make it to WC?”
I look at Fowler and RAG at almost the peak of their powers. Thank goodness for Jamaican netball fans their selectors don’t share that mindset. If you’re good enough you’re old enough, and that should really work in both directions, after all being over thirty is not a death sentence!
I don’t think this Diamonds team is too old, far from it. It comes down to form and fitness.
I would say Bueta and Fretwell are the players that have left the biggest holes in the team.
Braz was a great specialist WD, but I felt the defence lifted to a better standard today for Australia. They can only create so many opportunities with players like Ekenasio and Nweke playing the way they are. It was the inability to convert from gains, as well as other attacking turnovers, that were costly.
Why wasn’t Wallam given more opportunities (prior to this year – as discussed, there may be something going on there in 2024)? She hasn’t even played against NZ.
Ervin, Wilkinson, Fawns, L Austin, Frew, Mundy, Williams and Walters all need to be exposed to this level next year, and Garrett, RBD need further consolidation.
I think Bruce has still got it if she is fully fit, but Ervin is breathing down her neck.
Also, as an aside, I’m not anti imports but I do think it is poor that Harten, who is way past even her average best, gets to play on in SSN while players like Lucy Austin sit on the bench at Tbirds and Wallam is playing in NZ.
I found the comment from Cat Tuaviti that DNT has found it difficult to connect with the young players of this generation, and she has done a lot of work to improve that.
That explained a lot with regards to what has appeared to be culture issues within the Ferns. I would say a person like Akle, who has built an amazing team culture and connection with her players, has probably helped with.
It takes a lot for a coach to admit that type of thing and I really respect her for owning that and doing a lot of work behind the scenes to improve it. It also explains the stark difference between the team that won the 2019 WC, and the past few years.
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