Diamonds show polish to continue netball win streak
Melissa Woods |
The Diamonds have kept their unbeaten record against South Africa intact, delivering a sparkling performance to bank a commanding 64-53 victory in Bendigo.
The Australians hadn’t played an international in almost a year and were wary of the Proteas, who were pipped in the final seconds of their third Test against New Zealand last week.
Towering shooter Elmere van der Berg was one of the stand-outs of that series, with Australian fans set to see plenty more of the 24-year-old, who will play for the Adelaide Thunderbirds next Super Netball season.
That fear was realised in the opening quarter with the world No.5 side holding the world champions to 14-14 at the first break.
But the Diamonds built into the match with Melbourne Vixens premiership shooting duo Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin helping the team to a dominant 34-26 lead by halftime.
The crowd let out a roar with just over two minutes left in the half with 29-year-old Alice Teague-Neeld finally making her Test debut, replacing skipper Liz Watson at wing attack.
Victorian-born Teague-Neeld played for both the Vixens and Collingwood before shifting to the West Coast Fever.
The South Africans made some changes to their defensive end, bringing on Jamie van Wyk and Sanmarie Visser, but they were still unable to stem the flow into the Australian goal circle.
The Diamonds defence, led by goal-keeper Courtney Bruce, was also rock-solid.
Recovering from Achilles surgery last year as well as calf complaint, Bruce was named player of the match.
The margin was 50-41 heading into the final term and Proteas coach Jenny van Dyk brought Test centurion and captain Khanyisa Chawane back into the fray at wing attack.
With Australia’s coach Stacey Marinkovich also emptying her bench the visitors grabbed four goals in a row but it wasn’t enough to make a real dent on the home side’s big lead.
The victory was their 47th from as many matches against South Africa.
“It certainly felt like ages since we’ve been out there,” said Marinkovich.
“We thought it’d be tight particularly early, and I thought we were getting a bit stuck on the body so it was nice to get some movement, and then you generate your speed and connection and things like that.
“So I thought, you know, for a first hit out, it was a pretty good result.”
Van Dyk was pleased with their first outing against the top-ranked Australians.
“It was actually not a bad performance – taking on the best in the world is never an easy job,” the coach said.
“We had a great start … we showed we can be competitive for at least three good quarters but unfortunately that second quarter hit us hard.
“There’s definitely a lot we can learn and a lot of improvement, this team has only started.”
The second Test will be played in Wollongong on Wednesday night and the third and final game in Adelaide on Sunday October 12.
AAP
