By Stephanie Smarrelli
In a tantilising first quarter, the Origin Australian Diamonds put on a show, returning to international netball on Australian soil for the first time in 1088 days.
In front of a buzzing sell out crowd, the Diamonds kept themselves in contention for the Constellation Cup.
Australian captain Liz Watson had the ball on a string, making her feeds into Sophie Garbin look easy while Garbin was strong and accurate in attack.
Garbin finished the quarter with nine goals at an accuracy of 82%
The defensive pressure from the Diamonds forced the Silver Ferns into making errors and the Diamonds capitalised throughout the quarter with Courtney Bruce and Jo Weston really challenging the Ferns.
Steph Wood did a wealth of work in attack opening the space for Sophie Garbin and nailing her shots at goal with only one miss to start the match.
Diamonds captain Liz Watson was a powerful leader in attack.With the Constellation Cup on the line the Diamonds took a four-goal lead into the second quarter.
Starting the second strong the Diamonds put on a full court defensive effort to make it tricky for the Silver Ferns to find a quick path to attack.
Courtney Bruce caused havoc, challenging every feed into the goal circle creating plenty of opportunities for the Diamonds to hit the scoreboard.
Having started the quarter strongly, the Diamonds pushed their lead out to 10 goals early in the second.
The Diamonds continued to remain in control throughout the second quarter with Kate Moloney and Jamie-Lee Price slowing the speed of New Zealand’s Kimiora Poi and Whitney Souness.
Kate Moloney was strong in the Diamonds' midcourt.Slick from end to end, the Diamonds had a nine-goal lead at halftime.
The Diamonds continued to be a force in the third, with the same seven Diamonds still on the court while the Ferns only had a few of their starting seven still out there.
Bruce stood tall in defence continuing to push the Silver Fern’s shooters Grace Nweke and Te Paea Selby-Rickit. Bruce’s footwork in defence and physical presence in the goal circle saw her win ball back with 2 gains and 2 intercepts for the quarter.
The Silver Ferns’ intensity went up a notch, capitalising on their opportunities to slim the margin to five goals with New Zealand’s Phoenix Karaka and Kelly Jury beginning to influence the play with two gains to Karaka.
Amy Parmenter rolled onto the court for the Diamonds, providing some fresh legs to the midcourt as the Ferns tried to mount a comeback.
The Silver Ferns won the third quarter by a goal, but the Diamonds took a commanding eight-goal lead into the fourth.
The Diamonds continued to give it their all throughout the fourth quarter withstanding the heat from the Ferns who were throwing everything they had at the Australians.
Sophie Garbin was challenged throughout the match but slotted goal after goal.Ruby Bakewell-Doran hit the court late in the fourth and gave the Ferns a new problem to solve in defence.
Wood and Garbin continued to combine seamlessly in the goal circle. While Diamonds' captain Liz Watson orchestrated the play on the court and finished the match with a massive 57 feeds and was named the Origin Player of the Match.
The Diamonds 62 to 47 win sets up a thrilling final battle for the Constellation Cup on the Gold Coast this Sunday.
