Australia will need to re-group following its comprehensive 64-50 defeat to a formidable New Zealand line-up in the first Constellation Cup Test in Wellington.
The Silver Ferns posted their highest score in regular time against the Diamonds to claim a 1-0 series lead on Sunday, having taken control of the opening Test during a dominant second quarter.
The victory was a clear statement from the New Zealanders in a week where they were criticised for an ongoing dip in form that has seen them to drop from world number two to three on the international netball rankings.
After leading 17-16 at the first break, the Silver Ferns poured on the pressure in the second term to establish a 34-25 lead by half-time.
The Diamonds outscored their opponents 15-13 in the third quarter but the world champions still had a mountain to climb, trailing 47-40 ahead of the final term.
The Silver Ferns showed no signs of faltering when in sight of full-time, adding to their lead as they completed a dominant performance.
Australia's Sophie Garbin (centre) found herself under defensive pressure from New Zealand. (Getty Images: Hagan Hopkins)
Goal shooter Grace Nweke was superb for the Silver Ferns, landing 50 attempts, while Ameliaranne Ekenasio added a valuable 14 goals to see both players finish with 94 per cent accuracy.
Nweke was lauded for her performance as she pushed her body to its absolute limits, leaping and stretching for the ball throughout the game.
Midcourter Maddy Gordon was named player of the match for her hard work punching up the court before feeding possession with pure instinct, high and long to Nweke.
Australia head coach Stacey Marinkovich made 15 substitutions as she tried to find the right line-up to stay in the fight.
But the Diamonds struggled to link in attack and shut down Nweke in defence.
It marks the team's seventh straight loss on New Zealand soil.
"We just weren't on song tonight," Marinkovich said in a post-match media conference.
"A loss doesn't sit well. There's lots to learn from this experience and we need to put our heads down. We're going to have to come out hard in the next one.
"You've got to make the most of the opportunities and we let a couple slip."
The second of the four Constellation Cup Tests will be played in Auckland on Wednesday.
The third and fourth Tests will be contested in Perth (October 27) and Melbourne (October 30).
Brodie Roberts (right) shoots for goal during Australia's win over New Zealand in the men's Test. (Getty Images: Hagen Hopkins)
Earlier, Australia convincingly defeated New Zealand 84-34 in the first men's Test.
The Kelpies had the greater share of possession (56 per cent) and never looked like being challenged by the outclassed Net Blacks.
Australia's Jerome Gillbard was named Player of the Match, scoring 23 goals at 89 per cent accuracy in his 30 minutes on court.
Together with goal attack Brodie Roberts, the pair laid the platform for a strong win.
The two teams will meet again in Auckland for another double header alongside the women's on Wednesday.
Look back at how the action unfolded in our live blog.
Well, what an entertaining start to the 2024 Constellation Cup that was. Again, well done to New Zealand on pulling off such a big upset in the opening game and we look forward to seeing what they bring to the court in three days' time in Auckland for Game 2.
The Kelpies and Net Blacks will also play Game 2 of the Trans-Tasman Cup on Wednesday. We'll be live blogging both games, so make sure to check back on the ABC Sport page for more analysis.
What happened to the silver ferns .,this is not the same team that lost to England 12 days ago, We look hopeless against England, just insane result .. I cap my hat to the girls I had Australia by 6
- Naki pete
Agree with you! I did watch the Taini Jamison series and the first game was certainly competitive, but the Silver Ferns seems to be humming along at another level now. Maybe playing these series back-to-back has helped them gain momentum? While the Aussies had a break after England flew to New Zealand. I do think though that the Silver Ferns were simply fired up after everyone discussing their bad form and drop in the World Rankings. It felt like they had a real point to prove!
Something we haven't discussed yet is the presence of Briony Akle in the Silver Ferns camp. The two-time NSW Swifts premiership winning head coach was appointed as their assistant coach under Noeline Taurua for this Constellation Cup.
In the Super Netball environment she works with Sarah Klau and Paige Hadley on a daily basis. And Taurua spent a couple of weeks with the Swifts during the domestic season working as an assistant under Akle.
Without trying to claim New Zealand's success tonight was due to an Australian, it would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall during the Silver Ferns prep and what insights Akle had to share with the team! And how much did Noeline learn from her time spent in the Super Netball set-up?
Not much different in these stats, other than New Zealand getting more hand to ball defensively and Australia turning it over with six more turnovers.
Again, not a heap different here. It probably shows the level of intensity and competitiveness seen in this game. New Zealand were slick in attack, while the Diamonds made a range of mistakes - but for the most part, were still playing at an okay standard.
Well, she had a stellar game and Gordon thoroughly deserves her Player of the Match award in Game 1 of the Constellation Cup for her 29 feeds, 26 goal assists, one intercept, two pickups and eight second-phase receives. Did a mountain of work!
Oh wow, it turns out the Silver Ferns' 64 goal tally marks their highest score over the Diamonds ever in regular time. Well done! They had plenty of critics leading into this series. Now it feels like the sky is the limit ahead of Game 2 in Auckland on Wednesday.
The Ferns are a great team. Well done to them. Well done to you, Brittany for your bangin blogging
