The Silver Ferns have opened the 2026 Constellation Cup with a 56-50 win over Australia at Spark Arena in Auckland on Sunday night, handing the Diamonds their 11th straight test defeat on New Zealand soil. Australia has not won a test in this country since 2021, and on the evidence of the first three quarters that run is in no danger of ending this week.
Shooter Grace Nweke finished with 40 goals from 41 attempts, and goal keeper Kelly Jackson was named most valuable player after a performance that repeatedly turned Australian possession into New Zealand goals. The home side led 15-10 at the first break, 32-22 at half time and 45-33 going into the last quarter before the Diamonds won the final 15 minutes 17-11 to make the scoreline look closer than the contest had been.
Netball New Zealand put the crowd at 6800, which it described as the biggest New Zealand netball audience in a decade. It was the first meeting between the two sides this year. They were kept apart at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July, where the Silver Ferns won gold and Australia finished with bronze after Jamaica beat them in the semi-finals, the worst result the Diamonds have recorded at a pinnacle event.
Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua kept the structure that won in Glasgow but changed the midcourt, starting Kimiora Poi at wing attack, Maddy Gordon at centre and Kate Heffernan at wing defence. Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, one of the stand-out players of the Commonwealth Games campaign, began on the bench. Martina Salmon and Peta Toeava were left out of the match-day 12 altogether.
Poi set the tone early with a couple of tips, and Jackson and captain Karin Burger smothered the Australian shooters under the hoop to force an early held ball. RNZ’s match report noted that the Silver Ferns took the direct route into Nweke whenever it was available, but were patient on attack when they needed to be, and that low error count was the difference. Nweke had a perfect 26 from 26 at half time.
Australia was already short-handed before the first whistle. Vice-captain Kate Moloney was ruled out with a finger injury, so captain Liz Watson moved to centre and Georgie Horjus started at wing attack. When New Zealand pushed out to a 19-11 lead early in the second quarter, Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich sent on debutant Jessie Grenvold at goal keeper and shifted Courtney Bruce, who was playing her 100th test, out to goal defence. Sophie Dwyer came on at goal attack and Amy Parmenter at wing defence. The changes steadied the visitors briefly, but Jackson twice tipped and caught the ball in the same passage, first from a Kiera Austin shot and then from Dwyer, and the lead kept growing.
The biggest margin of the night was 15 goals during the third quarter. Taurua used the cushion to test her depth, bringing Reuelu-Buchanan on at wing defence, pushing Heffernan to centre and Gordon to wing attack, and giving Te Paea Selby-Rickit her first Silver Ferns appearance since the 2023 World Cup. The 34-year-old, now the oldest member of the squad, has just completed her first season in the Australian league. Amelia Walmsley came on at goal attack in the last quarter and Carys Stythe had a late cameo. Parris Mason was the only New Zealander who did not take the court, while all 12 Diamonds got minutes.
The Australian recovery came once Sophie Garbin, in her 50th test, and Austin settled as a shooting pair and Jamie-Lee Price took over the captaincy at centre. The Diamonds won the last quarter comfortably, and under the new series rules that late surge could matter. The extra-time tie-breaker used to decide last year’s series has been scrapped. If the four tests are split 2-2, the Constellation Cup will be decided on goal percentage, so every goal conceded in a quarter already won is a goal that might count later.
Taurua told RNZ the win was a sweet one. “Any day to beat Australia is definitely satisfying, doesn’t come often but good to get that first game under our belt,” she said. She singled out her goal keeper. “Kelly played a blinder in that back, holy heck, she turned over some really good ball and that pushed us up in regards to the scoreboard and was really consistent as well, her and Karin [Burger].”
Marinkovich was candid about where her side stood. “You know New Zealand are clinical at the moment, they’re very patient with the ball, they like to play it around, they’re very comfortable in that, and we’ve got to be able to find lines that get us into the contest or put pressure on them,” she said. She also pointed to how many Silver Ferns now play in Australia’s Super Netball competition. Five of the Glasgow gold medallists played in the Australian league in 2026, and after Netball New Zealand relaxed its eligibility rules, 10 of the 12 have signed to play there in 2027. “The way in which the high performance systems are in Australia, everyone’s capacities have certainly grown so that’s the reality of it now,” Marinkovich said.
There is more than a trophy on the line. Australia currently holds the Constellation Cup after edging last year’s series in the extra period, and the Diamonds are still ranked first in the world. If New Zealand wins at least three of the four tests, the Silver Ferns would overtake them at the top of the world rankings for the first time in several years. Taurua has been chasing that since she took the job. “When I first started in 2018, we were ranked number four, it’s taken us a long time to get here,” she said. “We’re nearly there … but we’re getting close and hopefully we can tip that over.”
The second test is at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch on Wednesday 21 October at 7.40pm. The series then crosses the Tasman for the third test at Afterpay Arena in Sydney on Sunday 25 October and the fourth at John Cain Arena in Melbourne on Wednesday 28 October. Sky has the broadcast rights in New Zealand.
Do you think the Silver Ferns can hold the home advantage in Christchurch and then win in Australia to take the cup and the number one ranking, or will the Diamonds’ strong last quarter prove a warning? Tell us in the comments.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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