Netball: Van Dyk shows fighting spirit

Silver Ferns shooter Irene van Dyk (C) had a 90 per cent success rate in yesterday's loss to Australia. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand goal shoot Irene van Dyk is a fighter.

Just a week after shooting a below-par 73 per cent in the third netball test against Australia in Brisbane, the 99-test veteran bounced back with a sterling display as Australia battled to a 47-46 win over the Silver Ferns in yesterday's fourth test at Stadium Southland.

The win was the third for the Diamonds, leaving the Silver Ferns with only pride to play for in Wednesday's final test in Auckland.

Giving away 6cm in height to Australian goal keep Susan Fuhrmann, van Dyk has uncharacteristically struggled in the last two tests, and in the Brisbane test could not find the reserves to fight back.

"I think it was the physicality of fighting the whole time for 60 minutes, of getting the ball and shooting under pressure," van Dyk said of her third test effort. "Everything was just pressurised, and all of that just got a bit too much."

But as the vastly experienced South African-born shooter pointed out, "you learn from every time you get out on court".

And the painful lessons she learnt in Brisbane's 33-36 loss were used to good effect in Invercargill yesterday.

Van Dyk missed only three attempts in the entire game, sinking 27 from 30 attempts for an impressive 90 per cent success rate, while her circle movement contained more variation and her rebounding more venom.

Although the Silver Ferns were behind in every quarter, they came agonisingly close to pulling off the win, with the scores tied 46-46 and just a minute left on the clock.

But the Australian midcourt was in overdrive as Renae Hallinan, Natalie von Bertouch and Kimberlee Green upped the pressure to force the vital turnover which saw the Diamonds grab the win.

Bitterly disappointed at the loss, New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken still saw some positives in the way her forward court - and van Dyk in particular - lifted their game yesterday.

"I thought the movement that Irene put into her game really made a lot of difference. She's actually got a really good dodge on her, she just sometimes keeps it in her back pocket," Aitken said afterwards.

"She was really focused - she was disappointed after last week, but she's a real professional, she comes out and wants to make sure she does it right."

Aitken was also pleased with the way goal attack Maria Tutaia stepped up after also disappointing last week, when she came on for Griffin in the final quarter but could only manage two from six attempts.

Yesterday Tutaia shot 12 from 16 for a solid 75 per cent after coming on towards the end of the second quarter for Griffin.

Still missing Liana Barrett-Chase with a calf injury, the Silver Ferns midcourt saw Laura Langman again take the court at centre, while wing attack Temepara George had her best game since returning this year from a self-imposed two-year exile from netball.

The mercurial George, relatively tiny by international netball standards at 1.70m, showed some real glimpses of the flair which made her such a vital part of the 2003 world championship winning team, and her drive to the circle and feeding of her shooters was a real bonus.

Aitken said there had been real development over the last seven tests - which included three against a combined World 7 - since the international programme began less than a month ago.

"From my point of view as a coach, I thought the forward court went up so much better than last week," she said. "For me, being in charge of the attack end, it's very reassuring. I thought there was a real step up, particularly the links with our middies into the shooting circle, but it was just nailing those crucial moments."

Ultimately, however, it was still a loss, the Silver Ferns' 12th in their last 18 outings against the Australians since the New Zealanders took gold at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

"There's huge disappointment we've lost the game, and the series, by one point. But in terms of where our growth is as a team, I can see there's some real improvement.

"It's very exciting, but we're not quite there yet."

- NZPA