Emily Mannix of Australia defends Te Paea Selby-Rickit. Photo / Getty
A horror five minutes - and a mediocre remaining 55 - has consigned the Silver Ferns to their fifth straight defeat at the hands of Australia.
A 9-0 Australian run midway through the first quarter dug the Silver Ferns a hole they would never extract themselves from; losing 67-48 and burying any hope that they could defend their Quad Series title.
After some tight tussles early in coach Janine Southby's tenure, this morning's defeat signifies the growing gulf between the two nations. Their fifth straight defeat to Australia was the worst of the lot, and the 19 goal defeat is the Ferns' second heaviest loss against Australia since 2000. It follows on the heels of 12 and 16 goal defeats in their last two outings – creating an unwanted candidate for the title of the worst three-game stretch in Ferns history.
Their 57-47 victory over Australia to steal Quad Series victory last year now seems like a massive outlier, with the Ferns now holding a 2-10 record under Southby against their transtasman foe.
Based upon their most recent performance, they look a long way from halting that trend. The Ferns never recovered from their early struggles, which saw a 6-6 battle rapidly evolve into a one-sided 15-6 scoreline.
Nine straight goals is the biggest run the Ferns had conceded since 2016 – also in a loss to Australia – and given their shaky earlier form – having lost to England and just edged past South Africa, a comeback was never likely to be on the cards. So it proved as Australia held, then extended their advantage.
Defensively, the Ferns were a mess early on, with Temalisi Fakahokotau often found out of position, or unfairly left alone with two attackers bearing down on her.
At the other end, the Ferns were coughing up possession, with 13 first quarter turnovers. Bailey Mes accounted for six of them, in exchange for just four goals, and the problems at both ends led to mass changes.
The defensive circle was swapped out, while Mes and wing attack Grace Kara were replaced by Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Shannon Francois respectively. That was just the start of rotation roulette, with Southby making 14 changes throughout the game as every player spent time on the bench.
It was perhaps the sign of coaching desperation, and all the musical chairs only created marginal improvements, at best.
Selby-Rickit was the most effective of the substitutions, producing a far higher volume than Mes. Safer in possession and benefiting from more direct play, Selby-Rickit nailed 28 of her 30 shots, and must be pushing for a starting spot following her similarly solid showing against South Africa.
She also had a rare highlight, nailing a turn-around leaping shot as she was tumbling out of bounds, but that was more stylish than sustainable as Australia's constant accumulation increased their already sizeable advantage.
When in shooting position, the Ferns were capable, hitting at a 48/58 rate, but they were rarely in that situation, with 34 turnovers seeing Australia hoist a remarkable 25 more shots than the Ferns.
With that disparity, the lead increased – Australia winning all four quarters, and the Quad Series title.
Ferns captain Katrina Grant said that their experimentation did not work.
"We've been working on a lot of things but we've been inconsistent with that. The combinations that we've got on court today are ones that we've never tried – and this is time for us to try new things.
"We just need to go home and work on a few things"
With just two months until the Commonwealth Games, it will need to be a quick fix.
Australia 67 (Caitlin Bassett 29/32, Susan Pettitt 18/22, Stephanie Wood 14/19, Caitlin Thwaites 6/10)
Silver Ferns 48 (Te Paea Selby-Rickit 28/30, Maria Folau 16/21, Bailey Mes 4/7)
HT: 35-22