Silver Ferns drop to second heavy loss to New Zealand men in Cadbury Netball Series

Silver Ferns drop to second heavy loss to New Zealand men in Cadbury Netball Series

At Pulman Arena, Auckland: New Zealand Men’s 67 (Jay Geldard 37/38, Ben Smith 14/20, Dan Jefferies 10/13, Caleb Vercoe 5/7, Matt Wetere 1/2) Silver Ferns 48 (Grace Nweke 20/25, Maia Wilson 23/29, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 5/8). 1Q: 18-10; HT: 40-21; 3Q: 55-34

At Pulman Arena, Auckland: New Zealand A 48 (Amelaranne Ekenasio 16/20, Tiana Metuarau 5/5, Filda Vui 26/29, Jamie Hume 1/2) Mixed invitees 36 (Amos Faitaua-Nanai 13/20, Georgia Heffernan 12/15, Grace Namana 8/9, Deepak Patu 1/2, Kyle Owen 2/4). 1Q: 13-13; HT: 25-21; 3Q: 34-30

The Silver Ferns fell to a second heavy loss to the New Zealand men in three days as the Cadbury Netball Series came to a close on Saturday at Auckland’s Pulman Arena.

Goal shoot Grace Nweke returned to the Ferns’ lineup for the final after missing out the first meeting between the two teams on Thursdaybut didn’t make much of an impression at first as her side fell 19 goals behind at halftime.

They became more competitive from then on, eventually losing by the same margin, 67-48, making their heaviest defeat in nine encounters with the men in the past three years, going back to their first public clashes, which were part of their final preparations. for the 2019 FIFA World Cup.

The Silver Ferns fell to a second heavy loss in three days against the New Zealand men in the final of the Cadbury Netball Series on Saturday.  (File photo)

Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

The Silver Ferns fell to a second heavy loss in three days against the New Zealand men in the final of the Cadbury Netball Series on Saturday. (File photo)

At the time, they lost four and twelve to the men in the Cadbury Netball Series, but then stunned hosts England and favorites Australia to win the tournament in Liverpool.

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Three years later, only five of that successful squad – and just one starter – will be on the plane when they leave for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday, via a final training camp in Colchester.

On the evidence of their showings this week, including strong wins above New Zealand A and a mixed team for invited gueststhe Ferns seem to have some work to do if they want to play in the gold medal match, let alone win it.

Dame Noeline Taurua stayed with the shooting duo Nweke-Maia Wilson who impressed in Friday’s win over the Mixed Invitational sidebut in the opening quarter they were starving.

Nweke, in particular, had a fruitless first period, with the Ferns relying on Wilson dropping a series of shots from the depths to stay in the game.

Even then, they trailed eight at the end of the first quarter and it took the men just seven minutes to double their advantage in the second, extending their lead past the 15 goals they won on Thursday.

From then on it would be a matter of damage control for the Ferns, who ideally had hoped to bring the men closer the second time around, especially with Nweke back in the mix.

They only lost the third quarter by two goals, which was an improvement, and won the last quarter by two, meaning at least they finished positively.

The Silver Ferns started the Cadbury Netball Series with a 67-58 win over New Zealand A on Wednesday then advanced to the finals after recovering from their first loss to the men, beating the Mixed Invitational team 68-59 on Friday.

New Zealand A defeated the Mixed Invitational team 48-36 in the play-off for third and fourth place earlier on Saturday afternoon.

The Silver Ferns begin their Commonwealth Games campaign on July 29 [July 30 NZ time] against Northern Ireland.

Host nation England, Malawi, Trinidad and Tobago and Uganda are the other teams in their group, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals where they are likely to meet two from Australia, Jamaica or South Africa.

The Silver Ferns failed to win a medal at the last Commonwealth Games, on the Gold Coast in 2018, finishing fourth after losing to Jamaica in the bronze medal match.