Netball: NZ cruise to comfortable win

Temepara George of the Silver Ferns fights for the ball with Paula Thompson of Jamaica. Photo / Getty Images

CHRISTCHURCH - The Silver Ferns cruised to a comfortable 58-35 win over Jamaica in the first netball test at Canterbury Arena here today, but a slow start and a patchy third quarter meant plenty of room for improvement before the two teams meet again in Napier on Saturday.

New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken's intentions were made clear from her starting seven, when she paired a brace of midcourt pocket rockets in Temepara George and Liana Barrett Chase, shifting Laura Langman out to wing defence in a line-up which screamed pace.

Captain Casey Williams again took over duties at goal defence, with Leana de Bruin posting up against the lofty Romelda Aiken at the back.

If through-court speed was the aim, then Aitken wouldn't have been disappointed with the opening stanza.

But the Silver Ferns' accuracy and timing into the circle just wasn't there in the opening 15 minutes and the Jamaicans feasted off a string of errors to match New Zealand goal for goal.

After three big losses to Australia recently, Jamaican coach Connie Francis put the hard word on the Sunshine Girls to play with more commitment and they didn't disappoint, making the most of the scratchy Silver Ferns start to slot the first three goals.

Although the New Zealand attacking third gradually found momentum, there was still too much turnover ball on offer, Aiken and rookie goal attack Anna Kaye Griffith missing only one goal between them from 11 attempts, while Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia lacked a little of their usual accuracy in sinking 11 from 14.

The Silver Ferns led 11-10 at the first break, but upped the tempo in the second 15 minutes and the feeding into van Dyk found some rhythm.

The Silver Ferns took the spell 18-11, Aiken taking over the burden of the shooting duties as Griffith struggled to shake off Williams and the New Zealand defence shut down the midcourt options for Jamaica.

After coughing up eight turnovers in the first spell, the Silver Ferns tightened up to concede only two in the second 15 minutes, and go into the break with a useful 29-21 lead.

A halftime switch for the Silver Ferns saw Langman back at centre, with George taking the wing attack's bib and Katrina Grant replacing de Bruin at goal keep, with Joline Henry taking over at wing defence.

The new midcourt combination found its timing immediately, letting the ball go into van Dyk and Tutaia with more confidence as Langman worked her magic in creating space and freeing up the lines into the circle.

Grant worked well against Aiken, despite giving away 10cm in height, and Williams was at her disruptive best.

With the Jamaicans under more pressure, their feeding into Aiken became more ragged, a succession of balls flying over the baseline as the goals dried up in the third quarter.

The quarter became a real arm-wrestle, with both teams contesting every pass and although the Silver Ferns took the spell 12-7, they were forced to work for every inch of court space, again conceding too many turnovers for comfort.

Rookie goal attack Grace Rasmussen got a run for the final quarter, and will have benefited from exposure to the athletic Jamaican game, but was caught out on occasion by the speed of the Jamaicans and will be looking for more drive onto the ball in subsequent games.

She shot from three from six, while van Dyk finished strongly to shoot 45 from 48 overall, with a 93 per cent success rate despite some close attentions from Aiken's older sister Nicole at goal keep.

Teams: Irene van Dyk, Maria Tutaia, Liana Barrett-Chase, Temepara George, Laura Langman, Casey Williams, Leana de Bruin. Bench: Grace Rasmussen, Anna Thompson, Joline Henry, Katrina Grant, Anna Scarlett.

Jamaica: Romelda Aiken, Anna Kaye Griffith, Sasher-Gaye Henry, Nadine Bryan, Paula Thompson, Georgia Gordon, Nicole Aiken. Bench: Vanessa Walker, Sateva Taylor, Malysha Kelly, Sasha-Gay Lynch.

- NZPA