Live: Diamonds play Constellation Cup on home soil

Australia is trailing New Zealand in the Constellation Cup 2-0 and fighting to keep hold of the coveted trophy in game three in Sydney.Follow for live updates.Sun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:31pmSun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:31pmThe start is importantSpeaking on Friday in Sydney, Marinkovich told ABC Sport reporter Amanda Shalala that the biggest lesson the team has taken from the opening matches is to get the start of the match right."For us, we've really got to be able to take the first five minutes of the quarters," she said."I think they've got little jumps on us in those moments. We've got to really solidify ball that we do get and make sure that we do put it on the scoreboard to pass some of that pressure back to New Zealand."Marinkovich and her assistant Nicole Richardson were left scratching heads after losing the opening two matches. (Getty)Sun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:25pmSun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:25pmLopsided penalty countAustralia has been heavily penalised throughout the series and Stacey Marinkovich said her team would be looking for clarification from the umpires as to why that is.New Zealand has conceded 100 penalties so far, while the Diamonds have conceded 145. That's a lot of time standing beside your player, unable to contribute to play.The same two umpires will officiate all four games of the series: Gary Burgess (English) and Alison Harrison (Welsh).But Marinkovich told the media that she felt the Diamonds were umpired differently on home soil. Whether the coach agrees or not, they definitely need to be more disciplined today."In history, for the last four years, we've been penalised in New Zealand and it kind of shifts when we're in Australia … But I don't think our game plan changes too differently."You can read more about that in our analysis below.Sun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:14pmSun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:14pmTeam changesAUSTRALIAAustralia has two players out with Jamie-Lee Price nursing a calf injury and Matilda Garrett scratched from the game with concussion so this 12 is literally the only 12 players left in their Constellation Cup squad.One of the Diamonds' strengths is the squad's depth, so that's taken a hit. As has its confidence. It'll be interesting to see how they fare without this pair.Thankfully there is some good news and that is that Kate Moloney is back fighting fight after suffering a nasty finger laceration at training. She missed the first outing but was stitched up and appeared on Wednesday night."The finger is fine. I had a few more stitches put in after the game, but the finger is good to go," Moloney told the ABC.NEW ZEALANDHead coach Noeline Taurua has made a single change to her team for game three and it's caught us by surprise.In Auckland, Kimiora Poi started the match in WA and put on a solid performance.She was replaced in the team by Peta Toeava for the Christchurch game, who went from outside the side into the starting line-up, taking hold of that WA bib.She was phenomenal and really hard to shut down. Now there's been a direct swap again. Poi in for Toeava.Keeping us on our toes! Both offer such different styles of wing attack. Maybe this is their trial for the sport for next year's World Cup?Sun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:04pmSun 25 Oct 2026 at 3:04pmA series recapIf you missed Wednesday night's game in Christchurch where the Diamonds suffered a heavy defeat to the Silver Ferns 62-50 you can find our blog from game two here.Sun 25 Oct 2026 at 2:38pmSun 25 Oct 2026 at 2:38pmWe're at the game!Hello! Thanks for joining our live blog for the Constellation Cup. Brittany Carter at the Sydney SuperDome ready for game three. It's so nice to be in-person for this one. I cannot think of a better way to end the week than some international netball.A reminder, we've already had two games played in this series for the New Zealand leg, with the Diamonds trailing 2-0 as they try to get back on track on home soil. If the Aussies win today, the series will still be alive ahead of the final match in Melbourne. However, if they lose this match the Constellation Cup will be the Silver Ferns for just the fourth time in history. There is also thought that three games might be enough for New Zealand to dethrone the Aussies from the world number one ranking spot, but the way the rankings are worked out is confusing... We do know for sure that a 4-0 cleansweep would see a change at the top.SCHEDULEGame 1: Sunday 18 October, 5:40pm AEDT — AucklandNew Zealand won 56-50Game 2: Wednesday 21 October, 5:40pm AEDT — ChristchurchNew Zealand won 62-50Game 3: Sunday 25 October, 4:00pm AEDT — SydneyGame 4: Wednesday 28 October, 7:30pm AEDT — Melbourne