The numbers behind the Diamonds ITS victories

By Matt Fotia

The Origin Australian Diamonds completed a dominant 2022 by wrapping up series victories against New Zealand and England on home soil. 

Their unrivalled performance at home went well with their Commonwealth Games gold and Quad Series triumph, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the world’s number one ranked side. 

The Diamonds came from 2-0 down against the New Zealand Silver Ferns to claim the Constellation Cup and stood up at crucial times to overcome a spirited England Roses outfit on multiple occasions.  

Here’s how they pulled off those miraculous series wins. 

 

CONSTELLATION CUP GAME ONE – SPARK ARENA, AUCKLAND 

NEW ZEALAND 56 defeated AUSTRALIA 48 

Australia were left to rue a slow start in game one of the 2022 Constellation Cup, going down to an impressive Silver Ferns outfit despite winning two quarters of the match. 
 
New Zealand notched up 20 goals in the opening term and opened up an 11-goal lead over the Diamonds, with the Peta Toeava (25 assists) and Grace Nweke (40 goals) combination proving difficult to remedy. 

The Diamonds finished the game with slightly more ball than their hosts (51%) but were unable to get their hands on the ball in the first quarter with New Zealand in possession 61% of the first period. 

Australia chipped away at the Silver Ferns’ lead across the next two quarters, thanks to the efforts of captain Liz Watson (34 feeds), substitute Jamie-Lee Price (10 assists, one gain and one intercept) and debutant Amy Parmenter (five deflections), hauling the margin back to six at the last change. 

But the New Zealand defence put a stop on any miracle comeback, collecting six gains in the final quarter alone (match tally of 16) thanks to Phoenix Karaka (six gains and five interceptions for the match) and Kelly Jury (seven gains, three rebounds and three deflections).  

Key Diamonds 

Liz Watson  
34 feeds and 13 assists 

Amy Parmenter 
Five deflections 

Jamie-Lee Price 
10 assist, one gain and one intercept 

Cara Koenen 
21 goals (95%) and two rebounds 

 

CONSTELLATION CUP GAME TWO – TRUSTPOWER ARENA, TAURANGA 
 
NEW ZEALAND 52 defeated AUSTRALIA 48 
 

Another poor quarter cost the Australian’s once again in game two of the Constellation Cup, with the Silver Ferns taking advantage in the third to take a 2-0 lead into game three. 

New Zealand claimed three gains and three intercepts in the third quarter alone to go with their 62% possession, as they turned a one- goal half time deficit into a five-goal lead, keeping the Diamonds to just nine goals. Comparatively, the Silver Ferns managed just six gains and two intercepts across the other three quarters in game two.  

It was the same culprits for the Silver Ferns in Tauranga as it was in Auckland. 

Young star Grace Nweke continued to cause headaches for the Diamonds, shooting double figures in quarters one, three and four on her way to 37 goals for the game, with no missed attempts, whilst Peta Toeava wreaked havoc, squeezing in 36 feeds with 27 assists.  

Meanwhile Kelly Jury and Phoenix Karaka continued their good work with three gains a piece, with Jury collecting two rebounds and two deflections, whilst Karaka had two intercepts. 

It was the leaders who stood up for the Diamonds, with captain Liz Watson being her ever-present self with 37 feeds – including 11 in the first quarter and 10 in the last – and Steph Wood (21 goals and eight assists) making their presence felt.  

Key Diamonds 

Liz Watson  
37 feeds, 15 assists, two gains and two intercepts 

Steph Wood 
21 goals (91%) and eight assists 

 

CONSTELLATION CUP GAME THREE – JOHN CAIN ARENA, MELBOURNE 

AUSTRALIA 62 defeated NEW ZEALAND 47 

Back in front of a home crowd for the first time in more than 1000 days, the Origin Australian Diamonds put on a masterclass, scoring over 15 goals in each quarter to grab an important 15 goal victory and simplify the equation heading into game four on the Gold Coast.  
 
New Zealand trailed by eight at the final change but were unable to get their hands on the ball in last quarter, with Australia in possession 65% of the time.  
 
Overall, the Diamonds had the ball in hand a whopping 57% of the game, causing the Silver Ferns to concede 71 penalties for the match. Australia were also finally able to grab more intercepts than New Zealand, winning that stat seven to six.  
 
Sophie Garbin and Courtney Bruce provided the Diamonds with strong bookends across the four quarters, with Garbin shooting 34 goals on her return to the starting seven – including eight goals at 100% in the third quarter when New Zealand were pressing – while Bruce enjoyed partnering up with Jo Weston, claiming five gains and eight deflections for the match. 

But it was Liz Watson once again who headlined the Diamonds’ stats sheet, totalling 57 feeds for the match, eight more than the entire Silver Ferns line up.  

Key Diamonds 

Liz Watson  
57 feeds, 28 assists 

Sophie Garbin 
34 goals (89%) 

Courtney Bruce 
Eight deflections, five gains and three intercepts 
 

CONSTELLATION CUP GAME FOUR – GOLD COAST CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE, GOLD COAST 

AUSTRALIA 57 defeated NEW ZEALAND 53 

Australia claimed the 2022 Constellation Cup with a performance that mirrored their opponent’s game one victory, as the Diamonds lost all bar one quarter on route to a four-goal victory. 

A 19 goal to eight third quarter was more than enough to win an otherwise tight tussle for the Origin Diamonds, as they went from five goals down to six goals up in the blink of an eye. 

The world number one went to another level after the half time break, scoring 15 of the first 17 goals of the quarter in an absolute assault on the Silver Ferns, with Liz Watson playing yet another big role, with 11 feeds, seven assists, two gains, one deflection and an intercept in the third term. 

New Zealand gave the ball away a number of times in the frantic third quarter as well, with six general play turnovers to just one for the Diamonds.  

Sophie Garbin carried on her John Cain Arena form with 36 goals (92%) and Jamie-Lee Price also impressed with 29 feeds across the four quarters as the Diamonds completed an unlikely Constellation Cup comeback.  

Key Diamonds 

Steph Wood 
21 gains, 17 assists and 22 feeds 

Courtney Bruce 
Five deflections, two gains and one intercept 

Jamie-Lee Price 
29 feeds, three deflections, one gain and one intercept 
 
Liz Watson 
20 assists, three gains, two deflections and two intercepts 

 

ROSES SERIES GAME ONE – NEWCASTLE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, NEWCASTLE 

AUSTRALIA 55 defeated ENGLAND 54 
 

Australia produced a magic eight seconds of netball to steal victory against England in the first of the three-test series in Newcastle, with debutant Donnell Wallam completing a fairy-tale finish, nailing a ‘lay-up’ with seconds left on the clock to win a see-sawing battle.  

The Diamonds were beaten in the goal circle after half time by the Roses, who did not miss an attempt after the main break, with holding shooter Eleanor Cardwell nailing 13 goals in the tense final quarter. 

England took it right up the home side in the second and third quarters as well, collecting 13 gains and eight intercepts across that period, ultimately winning both stats across all four quarters, with 19 gains (to Australia’s 18) and 11 intercepts (Australia had seven). 

Livewire defender Funmi Fadoju shone in her 21 minutes on court, gathering eight deflections, five gains and two intercepts, with four of her gains coming during the Roses last quarter push. 

For the Diamonds, it was Sophie Garbin again who lead the line, with 36 goals, while fan favourite Maddy Proud had a great outing with 36 feeds and 26 assists, in what is definitely the best game of her developing Diamonds career.  
 

Key Diamonds 

Maddy Proud 
36 feeds, 26 assists, four gains, three intercepts and three deflections 

Courtney Bruce 
Six deflections, five gains and two intercepts 

Sophie Garbin 
36 goals (84%) and four rebounds 
 

 

ROSES SERIES GAME TWO – QUDOS BANK ARENA, SYDNEY 

AUSTRALIA 56 defeated ENGLAND 48 

The Origin Australian Diamonds snatched game two of the series with strong first (16-11) and third (14-10) quarters enough to hold off the Roses in front of a bumper Sydney crowd. 

Australia finished the game with slightly less possession (49-51), but were defensively on their game as a unit, finishing the match with 15 gains (four more than England) and six deflections (four more than England), with the first quarter their most productive in this area, claiming six gains and three deflections in the first 15 minutes.  

Eleanor Cardwell was the big threat in the Roses goal circle, finishing with 40 of their 48 goals (including all 14 of their last quarter goals), with the Diamonds defenders keeping Helen Housby to just 10 shots across the entire game. 

Sarah Klau was notable with six gains and five deflections, Kiera Austin performed at her impressive best in goal attack, with 22 goals, 12 feeds and three deflections and Jamie-Lee Price ran the mid court show, with 13 feeds and nine assists in the second quarter alone.  

 

Key Diamonds 

Jamie-Lee Price 
27 feeds, 18 assists, four deflections 

Sarah Klau 
Six gains, five deflections and one intercept 

Kiera Austin 
22 goals (92%), 12 feeds, three deflections, two gains and one intercept  

 
ROSES SERIES GAME THREE – BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, BRISBANE 

AUSTRALIA 57 defeated ENGLAND 53 

The Origin Australian Diamonds survived a late England surge to complete a series clean sweep in Brisbane, thanks mainly to another hot start and some top line defensive work.  

The Roses could barely lay a hand on the ball in the opening 15 minutes in Brisbane, as Australia finished it with 61% of possession and an eight-goal lead (19-11). 
 
Fan favourite Amy Parmenter led the charge with two gains, two deflections and an intercept in the first quarter, on route to a player of the match performance, whilst Donnell Wallam returned to the line-up in style, netting 15 goals in the first quarter at 100%.  
 
Australia once again had more gains than the Roses (17-13) and won the intercept stat (eight – seven) for the first time in the series, with Maddy Turner’s three gains and two intercepts (in just 30 minutes of game time) key. Amazingly, Funmi Fadoju had 10 of England’s 13 gains herself, with her own star rising exponentially across the three-game series.  

England, off the back of Fadoju, Cardwell (38 goals) and Sophie Drakeford-Lewis (12 goals and 12 assists) threatened to spoil Australia’s clean sweep but settling goals from Sophie Dwyer and Sophie Garbin ensured the Roses never got within three. 
 
Key Diamonds 

Amy Parmenter 
Four deflections, two gains and one intercept 

Maddy Turner 
Three gains, two intercepts and one rebound 

Donnell Wallam 
25 goals (90%)