Netball: Celebrations on ice as Silver Ferns look for whitewash

12.30pm - By ROBERT LOWE

The celebrations have been kept on ice despite the New Zealand netball team breaking a drought with their first series victory over traditional rivals Australia in 15 years.

The Silver Ferns withstood a strong Australian comeback over the final quarter to take the second test 52-50 in Palmerston North last night and move to an unassailable 2-0 lead.

But with the final test still to come in Hamilton on Monday night, coach Ruth Aitken said the corks wouldn't be popping just yet.

"Every time you go out as the Silver Ferns, the result is still the priority," she said.

"A test series win is not as good as finishing it off well, and that's what our aim will be.

"We won't be complacent from here on in."

Aitken has used the same nine players over the two tests, with shooter Jodi Te Huna, and defenders Anna Scarlett and Joline Henry, who is still awaiting her first cap, having stayed on the bench.

Whether those three would get on court now that the series was secured had not been decided, she said.

"We will have to go back and re-evaluate that," she said.

"It has always been my philosophy that I want us to perform well, so we have to make sure that the changes we make are able to be sustained."

In another hotly contested and physical trans-Tasman encounter, New Zealand had appeared to be in control at Arena Manawatu when they held an eight-goal lead at three-quarter time.

But a series of turnovers produced a nailbiting finish as the Australians pegged back the margin, coming out on top in the final quarter 18-12.

As in the opening match in Christchurch, the Australians put up more shots than the New Zealanders over the hour, and again failed to capitalise.

Sharelle McMahon and Cynna Neele, who alternated between goal shoot and goal attack, converted just 70 per cent of their chances.

By contrast, New Zealand goal shoot Irene van Dyk landed 39 of her 43 attempts, for a 91 per cent success rate.

Team-mate Belinda Colling, who scored 13 from 19, was later named player of the match for a tireless performance at goal attack.

Aitken admitted to some anxious moments over the final 15 minutes and said there would be a number of areas for her players to work on over the next two days.

Even during the first three quarters, she felt the Silver Ferns were "up and down".

"I think we just got a little bit ragged at times and we just have to stay tidy in our movements and in our options."

For Australian coach Norma Plummer, who was critical of her team's "unacceptable" number of mistakes, it was a case of "back to the drawing board".

"If we cut down our error rate, we're not going to be eight goals down, are we?

"If we hadn't blown all of that, we might have been in front going into the last quarter. It's a feather in their cap for being able to concentrate on doing that. But from the outset, basically, we've got to nail it."

However, Plummer said the defeat "won't hurt us", pointing out that she was missing several players who were unavailable for the tour through injury.

"That's the luck of the draw and you have to go with the injuries. In saying that, this group has done a pretty good job, basically."

- NZPA