Australia 43
New Zealand 41
>>Dana Johannsen: Mixed season for Ferns, but Australia will rise
KEY POINTS:
The Silver Ferns' international season yesterday finished the way it began - with a disappointing two-goal loss to Australia.
The defeat in Brisbane levelled the score at two wins apiece in meetings between the two sides this year, and brought the curtains down on a roller-coaster season for
the Ferns.
With Australia missing their top shooting combination in Catherine Cox and Sharelle McMahon all season, yesterday's loss further highlights concerns the Diamonds are set to continue their healthy period of dominance over the Ferns for some time yet.
New Zealand's hopes of climbing to the top of the world rankings were snuffed out before the opening whistle with an email from the international netball federation, which informed the Kiwis that Australia would maintain their No 1 status regardless of the result of yesterday's match.
But with the game being the Ferns' last hit out of the year they still had plenty to play for, with bragging rights heading into next year on the line.
The New Zealanders, though, struggled to find their flow in a messy and at times torrid clash, with Australia clearly still smarting from last week's five-goal loss.
Australian captain Mo'onia Gerrard was thrilled with the comeback from her young side, who had been under extreme pressure after a shaky performance in the opening test.
"It's so overwhelming, we've been fighting within ourselves to try and improve each time and to finally get over the Silver Ferns in the last test of the year is amazing, I'm so stoked," she said.
Gerrard reserved special praise for her defensive partner Laura Geitz, who had a strong impact in her first ever game against New Zealand, out-witting veteran shooter Irene van Dyk on several occasions.
With the match evenly poised throughout, the Ferns weren't without their opportunities to win the match themselves.
After displaying some sublime long-range shooting all afternoon, goal-attack Maria Tutaia's only miss of the day came in the closing minutes when she had the opportunity to close the gap to one, with the Ferns' centre pass to follow. But the shot rimmed out with Australia going on to convert down the other end and close out the match.
It was the story of New Zealand's afternoon, as they just didn't seem to get the rub of the green - particularly when it came to the umpiring. The Ferns struggled with the interpretations of Jamaican umpires Chris Campbell and Dalton Hinds, who were inconsistent with their rulings between the two sides.
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken diplomatically described the umpiring as "interesting", but said it was her side's inability to capitalise on their opportunities that ultimately cost them the match.
"It was very physical and I thought the umpiring was interesting, but in the end we actually had the ability to win that ourselves, so that's what I'll be focusing on," said Aitken.
"We worked hard for those turnovers in the final quarter but we just didn't put them in to goals. You have to nail your turnovers and score off them."
The Ferns appeared to get bogged down in the attack end by the physicality of the Australian defence and Aitken said she was disappointed her side couldn't make the necessary adjustments as they did last week.
"We have the skills to be able to change things up and I don't think we adjusted as well as we needed to."
Aitken opted to reward the players that had turned the tide in the opening test, with youngsters Liana Barrett-Chase and Katrina Grant named in the starting line-up. The inclusion of the pair meant there were five players in New Zealand's starting line-up that were members of the under-21 side that won the World Youth Championships in 2005. Another member of that side, Steel midcourter Wendy Telfer, made her debut in the final quarter, replacing an out-of-sorts Joline Henry.
The only change to the Australian line-up came in the defensive end, with Laura Geitz starting at goal-keep in place of Bianca Chatfield, who was penalised heavily in the opening test.
In just her second ever international game, Geitz was impressive for the home side, combining well at the back with Gerrard to snaffle plenty of ball from the Ferns attack.
As was the case in last weekend's opening test, the Ferns turned over a lot of ball early on in the first quarter and the Australians capitalised, racing out to an 8-3 lead. But this time New Zealand didn't take quite so long to shake off their attacking woes, clawing their way back to trail by just one at the first break.
New Zealand continued to rally after quartertime, eking out a four-goal lead before a couple of unforced errors on successive possessions allowed Australia back in the game. The home side regained the lead before halftime, holding a slim 23-22 advantage heading in to the second half.
Australia maintained their composure in the frantic closing stages to make it two from four against the Ferns this year.
