Live: Diamonds return to home soil needing victory to keep Constellation Cup hopes alive
Starting 7s are in
Alright, lots of changes to this starting seven line-up for the Diamonds. Sophie Dwyer gets the nod in GA as Kiera Austin drops out of the squad. Dwyer has provided great impact off the bench in the past two games.
Jamie-Lee Price shifts to wing defence to make room for Paige Hadley at centre, while Sarah Klau pushes out front to goal defence as Courtney Bruce gets her regular starting bib back at goal keeper. No sign of the potential debutant Georgie Horjus yet.
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For the third straight match, the Silver Ferns run with the same starting seven. And why not? It’s working. Head coach Noeline Taurua is clearly happy with their output.
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11m agoSun 27 Oct 2024 at 7:47am
Not long now!
what time does the game start pls
– Simon
Hi Simon, the match starts in about 14 minutes at 7pm AEDT. You can watch the game on Kayo Sports or Fox Netball if you’re in Australia. If you’re overseas, you can sign up for Netball Pass and stream it on your phone or another smart device.
Sold out in Perth
Reports suggest that the match at Perth Arena is all sold out. It’s one of the biggest stadiums on offer for netball in Australia and the West Coast Fever reguarly get over 10,000 people in attendance to their games. So let’s hope they cheer loud and proud for the Diamonds tonight!
Australia must win everything from here
Not only must Australia win the next two games in Perth and Melbourne to level the series, but to win the Constellation Cup outright they will also need to win a mini game at the end of game four.
In the past two series, when the series has been tied 2-all it has come down to goal difference. But there has been a change this year, introducing a 14-minute period of ‘series decider time’.
Why not just play an uneven amount of games you ask? Say three or five matches? Great question. We wonder the same …
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Bold changes
After the Diamonds lost the first match in Wellington (64-50) and second match in Auckland (63-52) the head coach of the Australian side Stacey Marinkovich has made some bold changes to her game-day squad.
Experienced players Keira Austin, Kate Moloney and Jo Weston have all been dropped to make way for some young guns. 22-year-old goal attack / wing attack swing Georgie Horjus has been selected for her first ever game-day squad and is in-line for debut after starring once again for the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Super Netball season.
In defence, Rudi Ellis (two caps) and Matilda Garrett (five caps) have got the nod in defence. The Australians have struggled to shut down Silver Ferns goal shooter Grace Nweke and to prevent the kiwi midcourters sharp feeding in to her. They’ll need to limit Nweke’s ability if they hope to win tonight.
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Crunch time!
Hi there, welcome back to ABC Sport’s coverage of the Constellation Cup, where the Silver Ferns have taken a 2-0 lead in the series.
Now the contest shifts to Australia with tonight’s game set to be played in Perth and one more to come after that in Melbourne on Wednesday. This is a must-win netball game for the Diamonds if they hope to keep hold of the coveted trophy.
We’ll keep you up to date with all the action from game three in our live blog, as well as team news and analysis. Follow along and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.