Record win for Silver Ferns

Adine Harper in action for the Silver Ferns last night. Phil Walter / Getty Images

New Zealand recorded a record victory against Australia last night, their seventh in the last nine attempts, surpassing the 19-goal winning margin achieved in 1981.

The naked truth was that New Zealand were better in all departments: they were quicker, stronger and far more accurate.

If this was a dress rehearsal for the inevitable Commonwealth Games final, then coach Ruth Aitken will be feeling a lot more comfortable in her skin than counterpart Norma Plummer - a woman who would manage a frown if she learned she'd just won the lottery.

In the first quarter New Zealand was finding moving the ball through the court a perilous and at times tortuous exercise. Laura Langman and Anna Scarlett in particular were having trouble avoiding the quick hands of the Australian defenders.

The ones wearing yellow were not without problems of their own. The shooting combination of vice-captain Sharelle McMahon and Eloise Southby-Halbish were not enjoying the close attentions of Scarlett and the indomitable Vilimaina Davu.

If looks could kill then McMahon would be facing a long stint behind bars.

The Silver Ferns went into the first break 13-9 ahead and, while it would be a stretch to say they looked comfortable, they appeared to be better prepared, tactically and physically.

In the second quarter Australia's Achilles heel surfaced again: their basic inability to convert possession into points. When the two great rivals last met at Sydney in June, the Silver Ferns won 50-43 on the back of some brutal defence. Australia had more attempts at goal but could convert only a paltry 67 per cent.

Their shooters were off-beam again in the second quarter as the Ferns quickly extended their lead.

It didn't take Plummer long to act, dragging off Southby-Halbish for Whangarei-born Catherine Cox.

Cox's experience might've been seen as important if Australia were to claw their way back from a daunting deficit but initially the change had all the effect of a Band-Aid on an axe wound. By this time captain Liz Ellis was nursing a knee she injured just seven minutes into her 105th match for Australia, a record. Without Ellis, they disintegrated.

It wasn't a great night for captains. Adine Wilson, magnificent throughout, was left stunned on the floor after an unscheduled meeting with Irene van Dyk.

At halftime the Silver Ferns led by 14 goals and the match became an exercise in damage limitation. Aitken swapped Scarlett for Leana de Bruin, a move that must have offered McMahon the sort of cold comfort that seeing a 1.87m defender being replaced by a 1.8m one can offer.

At the other end of the court van Dyk was typically imperious. At one point she twisted her frame around the stanchion to make a play - a piece of sporting poetry.

Beside her, Jodi Te Huna was having her strongest match for the Silver Ferns.

At three-quarter time the score was 48-25 and the 'rout' word was being used. They also had four world champions on the bench, a stat that changed slightly when Belinda Colling joined the fray for the first time since her Scottish sabbatical and entry into motherhood. She looked surprisingly sharp but so did everyone in black.

How else do you beat Australia by 25 goals?

- HERALD ON SUNDAY

Result

New Zealand 61
Australia 36

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NZ vs AUS last 15 Results

Head to head: NZ 6, Aus 9
2005:
New Zealand 50 Australia 43
2004:
Australia 53 New Zealand 51
New Zealand 50 Australia 42
Australia 54 New Zealand 49
2003:
New Zealand 49 Australia 47 (World Champs)
2002:
Australia 57 New Zealand 55 (Commonwealth Games)
2001:
Australia 50 New Zealand 46
New Zealand 58 Australia 47
Australia 51 New Zealand 47
Australia 62 New Zealand 52
New Zealand 55 Australia 40
2000:
Australia 53 New Zealand 30
1999:
Australia 42 New Zealand 41 (World Champs)
New Zealand 60 Australia 48
1998:
Australia 42 New Zealand 39 (Commonwealth Games)