Kelly Jury (centre) defends during the third Constellation Cup clash between the Silver Ferns and Australia. Photo / Photosport
Kelly Jury (centre) defends during the third Constellation Cup clash between the Silver Ferns and Australia. Photo / Photosport
Former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering says New Zealand can win the series-deciding fourth Constellation Cup netball test if they improve their defensive discipline and trust their attack.
Australia pulled apart the Ferns game plan in test three in Melbourne on Wednesday night, winning 62-47.
Both teams can win theseries in Sunday's fourth and final fixture on the Gold Coast – the Ferns are 2-1 up, but the Diamonds lead by a goal difference of three.
In the third test, Australia forced New Zealand's attackers to drive high up the court, making it harder to get the ball to goal shoot Grace Nweke. On defence, the Ferns went away from their zone and were caught chasing.
Willering says the Ferns need to keep things simple.
"Defensively, we need to get the timing right and start looking for intercepts and don't chase Australia. On attack we need to have the confidence to let the ball do the work."
Australia celebrate after winning the third Constellation Cup test. Photo / Photosport
Unlike the first two tests, coach Dame Noeline Taurua made wholesale changes in Melbourne with all 12 players taking the court. Willering says it resembled Australia coach Stacey Marinkovich in the Auckland and Tauranga tests – which didn't pay off for the Diamonds, losing two on the trot.
"Everyone was played in Melbourne and that is what Australia was guilty of in the first two tests, and yet Australia only made two changes. I'm expecting they [Australia] would go with the same line up [into test four] and why wouldn't you, they performed well."
Willering says statistics from the match show errors and ill-discipline cost the Ferns.
"Defensively we didn't have a great game. We had 71 penalties against Australia's 59. We didn't turn over a lot of ball, and even when Elle Temu and Kayla Johnson were introduced it didn't make a difference, and Kelly Jury had a slow start.
"If our defensive unit starts to work through and get quality ball for the attackers, that would enable either Maddy Gordon or Kimiora Poi to stay in the goal third and we would have a different ball game."
Yvonne Willering at the 2020 Halberg Awards. Photo / Photosport
Turnovers also cost the Ferns, notching up 26 compared with Australia's 16.
Looking ahead to test four, Willering says each player needs to be accountable and do their own job.
"Australia are going into the next game with a tremendous amount of confidence. The Ferns just need to play as a team. They need to come back and play it like they can play, where everyone has individual responsibility and play within their structures."
No changes will be made to Taurua's squad for Sunday's decider. For the Diamonds, goal defence Jo Weston, who shone in test three, is expected to stay in the playing 12. She was brought in for Sunday Aryang who suffered a calf tweak in the opening test in Auckland last week.
