Netball World Cup 2015 Group A match review: Australia v. New Zealand at Sydney

The organisers having rigged the draw so that the top two seeds would meet in the group stage, the fortunes of the 2015 Netball World Cup rested on this match, which would decide the vexed question of who plays England in the second group stage.

Like so many trans-Tasman superclásicos before, it began with the rivals trading goals: nine minutes in, Caitlin Bassett and Maria Tutaia had propelled their teams to seven goals apiece. The Silver Ferns were the first to go two up, as a brace from Tutaia gave them an 11-9 lead in the twelfth minute. The visitors went into the first break ahead 15-12, with captain Laura Geitz the standout first-quarter performer among the Aussies.

A swift fightback from the Diamonds levelled the scores within a minute of the break, and a further deadlock was broken in the seventh minute when Julie Corletto, on at goal defence replacing Sharni Layton, blocked a shooting circle-bound pass and recovered to launch the counter-attack. Four minutes later, a time-out was called with the Maorilanders up 24-22, Australian coach Lisa Alexander telling her shooters that “you two need to tighten up down there”. A wild and uncharacteristic miss from Bassett helped extend the margin to four goals, and despite dominating the final few minutes of the half, i gialloverdi went into the long break down 26-29.

There was another re-shuffle at the back, Layton returning to goal defence and Corletto moving to wing defence, but the Diamonds just Couldn’t Solve A Problem Like Maria. The match-winning performance from the Kiwi goal attack continued, who led the charge as the visitors took an eight-goal lead mid-way through the term, and they rewarded for their third-quarter superiority with a 40-34 lead at the final change.

The momentum shifted numerous times early in the fourth quarter, and the women in black led 45-42 at a mid-quarter time-out, then 48-42 when a second time-out was called a few minutes later. The Australian defence finally began to isolate Tutaia but this only gave goal shooter Bailey Mes the chance to take control. 52-47 was the final score.

Aside from a few flashes of tenacity by Geitz and Corletto, and some generally accurate shooting from Bassett, Australia’s performance was rather insipid. The pressure and intensity weren’t there; Layton, whose rise has been one of the revelations of Australian sport in recent times, looked decidedly out-of-position at goal defence. They will need to shift gears if they are to start looking like a World Cup-winning combination.

Australia 47 (Caitlin Bassett 38/43; Natalie Medhurst 6/7; Erin Bell 3/7) – New Zealand 52 (Maria Tutaia 34/48; Bailey Mes 18/21)