Netball: NZ hold off strong Australian comeback to take series

9.35pm

New Zealand held off a spirited final-quarter comeback by Australia to win the second netball test in Palmerston North tonight 52-50.

The Silver Ferns appeared to be coasting to victory when leading by eight goals with a quarter to go.

But a series of turnovers allowed the Australians to rein in the deficit and produce a nailbiting finish.

The victory gave New Zealand an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, with the final test to come in Hamilton on Monday night.

It also extended the world champions' winning sequence over their fiercest rivals to three matches, beginning with the world title decider in Jamaica last July.

After Australia's domination of trans-Tasman clashes for most of the 1990s, New Zealand have now won six of the past 12 encounters between the countries.

New Zealand ace Irene Van Dyk delivered another strong shooting display.

While she did not quite match her 97.5 per cent strike rate from the first test in Christchurch on Wednesday night, she grabbed 39 goals from 43 attempts, and her 91 per cent return was head-and-shoulders above the three other shooters on display from both sides.

Van Dyk's partner in attack, Belinda Colling, was named player of the match for a tireless display.

A capacity 4000 crowd was at Arena Manawatu for the first event at the venue since a $6.3 million upgrade.

They saw a contest that was more fluent than the opening test, but still robustly contested.

New Zealand took the first two quarters, the third was tied, while Australia grabbed the fourth 18-12.

As in Christchurch, New Zealand made a break in the second quarter, which they won 16-9 on the back of strong defensive pressure to lead 28-20 at halftime.

Both teams made two changes to their starting line-up.

Silver Fern coach Ruth Aitken started Adine Harper and Victoria Edward in the midcourt, for Temepara Clark and Lesley Nicol. Skipper Anna Rowberry, who played just the opening half of the first test, was moved from wing attack to centre.

Australian counterpart Norma Plummer recalled Janine Ilitch in place of debutante shooter Demelza Fellowes while putting Susan Meaney at centre in place of Natasha Chokljat.

Ilitch and van Dyk had a big personal tussle, with the taller van Dyk collecting numerous passes under pressure.

One contest for the ball left Ilitch sprawling on the deck having lost her balance over van Dyk's leg. Another ended with van Dyk being sent tumbling by Ilitch.

In a high tempo start to the match, Harper and Rowberry's feeding into the circle was sharp.

At the other end of the court, there was also a tough duel between Australian shooter Sharelle McMahon and New Zealand defender Vilimaina Davu. They, too, were sent to the deck during a goal circle collision.

McMahon and goal attack Cynna Neele had begun well in tandem, under strong defensive work.

But the pressure began to tell in the second quarter as Australia's shooting accuracy began to drop away. By the second quarter, New Zealand began moving the ball smoothly and at pace through the court.

Both sides made midcourt changes at halftime, with Nicol and Clark coming on at wing defence and centre and Rowberry moving to wing attack, and Plummer changing her centres, bringing on Chokljat.

However, New Zealand maintained their comfortable eight-goal advantage to three-quarter time, when Plummer substituted skipper Liz Ellis with Bianca Chatfield at goal defence.

- NZPA