Match Wrap | Cadbury Netball Series Game Day Three

The Silver Ferns will meet the NZ Men in tomorrow’s final after overpowering the NZU21s 81-33 on the third day of the Cadbury Netball Series in Palmerston North on Friday.

Playing for spots in the team to meet England next week, there was no shortage of incentive for the Silver Ferns with all candidates getting plenty of opportunity to press their claims as they turned on a classy outing against their young opponents.

Continuing to manage workloads, shooters Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Te Paea Selby-Rickit were rested from the Silver Ferns today while midcourters Claire Kersten and Kimiora Poi returned after playing for NZA in the previous game.

NZU21s shuffled their starting line-up with a new-look shooting end of Khiarna Williams and Hannah Glen while captain Tiana Metuarau slotted in at wing attack.

The closeness of the early exchanges quickly evaporated as the Silver Ferns built into their work before flexing their collective muscle and powering into a position of dominance. Showing patience on attack, shooters Maia Wilson and Monica Falkner worked well in tandem, both missing just the one goal apiece during the first stanza.

Staring at a big penalty count, the NZU21s ball supply dried up, having just the 11 shots at goal compared to the Silver Ferns 22 during the opening 15 minutes. Williams was accurate but lacked enough ball in her hands as the Silver Ferns stretched out to a 20-10 lead at the first break.

Gina Crampton (wing attack), Sam Winders (centre), Kersten (wing defence) and Grace Nweke (goal shoot) were injected on the resumption for Shannon Saunders, Poi, Karen Burger and Wilson respectively.

The changes were seamless as the Silver Ferns continued to put the squeeze on the NZU21s. Punishing the slightest of errors from their opponents, the Silver Ferns delivered a clinical second 15 minutes with Winders and Kersten instrumental in shutting down the NZU21s attacking thrust.

The NZU21s struggled to contain Nweke, who found good space in the circle to slot 16 goals from 17 while Falkner with 17 from 18, continued to impress in her comeback after being out of netball for 15 months with a serious knee injury.

Slightly overwhelmed the NZU21s faced wave after wave of attack from the Silver Ferns, being restricted to just six goals and facing a 45-16 deficit at the main break.

The well-performed NZU21s in-circle defensive pairing of Parris Mason and Taneisha Fifita slowed the Silver Ferns scoring speed during the third stanza. But it was the other end of the court where the youngsters had problems.

Time and again, the Silver Ferns picked off ball from the NZU21s transition through court, leaving the shooters just scraps to play with. That was mirrored when they were restricted to seven shots. There was no respite when the long-limed Kelly Jury took over from the imposing presence of Sulu Fitzpatrick at goalkeeper as the young shooters struggled to shift the menacing defensive attention.

There was no stopping the rampant Silver Ferns who marched into the last break with a handsome 62-23 lead.

In testing the extent of their combinations, the Silver Ferns made more changes in the run home while the NZU21s gave a them a good run for their money as they continued to battle on gamely.

In the day's first game, the NZ Men completed a clean sweep when despatching a hard-working NZA 64-37 on day three of the Cadbury Netball Series in Palmerston North on Friday.

That followed wins over the Silver Ferns and NZU21s in the previous two days, dominant second and final quarters paving the way for the NZ Men to shut NZA out.

NZA fought valiantly but struggled in the shooting department under the constant pressure exerted by the all-round speed, athletic ability and finishing accuracy of their multi-talented opponents.

The hugely influential pair of giant shooter Junior Levi and skilled midcourter Kruze Tangira started from the bench for the NZ Men with Quintin Gerber and Daniel Jefferies getting the starting shooting spots.

For NZA, busy little midcourter Whitney Souness found herself facing the men for a second time in the space of 24 hours after fronting for the Silver Ferns against them the night before.

Early on, the changes appeared to have little effect on the NZ Men who quickly sprung out to a five-goal lead with defenders Jake Schuster and Joseph Tukaki putting NZA shooters Jamie Hume and Aliyah Dunn under all sorts or pressure.

Inspired by defender Kate Burley’s disruptive play while grabbing a couple of timely turnovers, NZA found their feet late in the piece. A run of six straight goals pushed them back into the contest when they belatedly nudged into a one-goal lead.

The hustle from Burley and her defensive partner Erena Mikaere continued before the NZ Men re-took the lead when edging to an 11-10 lead at the first break.

Big guns Tangira and Levi were introduced on the resumption with telling effect, the NZ Men going on to dominate the quarter while restricting NZA to just seven goals.

The pace of the game lifted immediately, the NZ Men impressing with their speed and through-court transition as plenty of ball found its way into Levi’s hands as his team out-scored NZA three goals to one during the stanza, the 2.14m shooter nonchalantly slotting 14 goals from 15 attempts.

The fleet-footed Souness and energetic Burley continued to work hard for NZA but could not prevent the NZ Men taking a decisive 32-17 lead at the main break.

With Kruze and Levi back on the bench, the third quarter followed a similar pattern to the first. NZA were able to compete on more even terms as they continued to provide hustle defensively with Oceane Maihi picking up from where Mikaere left off after replacing her at goalkeeper. Wing defence Kate Heffernan also caught the eye with her wholehearted performance throughout.

Goal attack Jamie Hume grew in confidence to shoot from range helping NZA to level-peg through the third 15 minutes, losing the quarter by just one goal but leaving the NZ Men handily-placed when leading 47-31 at the last break.

Both teams made multiple changes for the run home, Levi and Tangira showing their versatile skillsets when playing in the vastly different positions of goalkeeper and goal shoot, respectively without missing a beat.

OFFICIAL RESULTS AND STATS:

Silver Ferns: 81
NZU21s: 33

Official Champion Data Statistics

Shooting Stats - Silver Ferns:
Grace Nweke 28/33 (84.8%)
Maia Wilson 28/33 (84.8%)
Monica Falkner 25/28 (89.3%)

Shooting Stats - NZU21S:
Saviour Tui 11/13 (84.6%)
Hannah Glen 14/17 (82.4%)
Khiarna Williams 8/11 (72.7%)

MVP: Maia Wilson

NZA: 37
NZ Men: 64

Official Champion Data Statistics

Shooting Stats - NZA:
Ellie Bird 10/16 (62.5%)
Aliyah Dunn 14/21 (66.7%)
Jamie Hume 13/18 (72.2%)

Shooting Stats - NZ Men:
Junior Levi 14/15 (93.3%)
Quintin Gerber 24/27 (88.9%)
Dan Jefferies 9/10 (90%) 
Cameron Powell 12/15 (80%)
Kruze Tangira 5/9 (55.6%)

MVP: Junior Levi

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