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Diamonds make big statement in opening Constellation Cup Test
Nicholas Quinlan • October 18th, 2025 4:32 pm
The Australian Diamonds have begun their Constellation Cup campaign in strong fashion, having beaten New Zealand by 17 goals to take a 1-0 lead in Melbourne.
Having lost the cup for only the third time since the series began in 2010 last year, Australia were determined to reclaim the trophy.
And the Diamonds would use that motivation to their advantage by managing the first scores of the game.
However, the Silver Ferns were quick to respond through Grace Nweke and Martina Salmon, which resulted in a tied game at quarter time.
From there, the Diamonds would carry a small margin in the second and third quarters before powering away in the fourth, with neither Sophie Garbin or Kiera Austin missing a shot during the final 15 minutes to see the Diamonds score 24 goals to win the match.
Speaking post-game, starting wing defence for the Diamonds, Jamie-Lee Price, who has joined the Melbourne Mavericks, was impressed by the way her teammates didn’t panic and continued to play their way.
“It was just about focusing on us and what we’re really good at,” she told SEN Netball.
“I think New Zealand are really good at trying to slow us down in that zone defence, and I think being patient and still playing with ball speed, and I thought we did that really well.
“We didn’t panic when they slowed us down; we just kept resetting and going again and again until it opened up. So, I think that was amazing from the attackers.
“Courtney (Bruce) and Sunday (Aryang) and all the girls that came on the court were amazing today.”
While for coach Stacey Marinkovich, she was proud of how the Diamonds have been able to improve their connection to lift to new heights.
“We’ve been on a build ever since (last year)," she said.
"We’ve worked on our connection and our culture. I think you saw things out there that you’ve never seen before.”
The second Test between Australia and New Zealand takes place next Wednesday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
SEN will have live coverage of that match through its radio network and the SEN app from 7pm AEDT.
