Live: Silver Ferns on top of Diamonds early in Constellation Cup opener

The world's two best netball teams meet for the 16th edition of the Constellation Cup.The Aussie Diamonds are looking to test themselves against the Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning New Zealand Silver Ferns ahead of next year's World Cup in Sydney.Meanwhile, Courtney Bruce is set to play her 100th Test. She becomes the Diamonds' seventh centurion and the second defender to reach the milestone after Liz Ellis.The first game will be played in Auckland.Follow our live blog.Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:59pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:59pmQT: NZ lead 15-10Oh dear, Diamonds fans. The hosts are dominating early in Auckland! Will head coach Stacey Markinovich be brave enough to make changes at the break? The midcourters are struggling to sight the shooters in the circle and our accuracy is lacking. Austin sits at 50 per cent having only converted 3/6 attempts at goal so far. And although Koenen is sitting at 88 per cent with 7/8 goals after the opening 15 minutes, she has also fumbled the ball over the backline and struggled to break free from the opposition.Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:54pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:54pmNZ letting the ball goWith two minutes left, the passes are only getting faster and longer between Silver Ferns teammates.SCORE: New Zealand lead 13-7Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:52pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:52pmJackson blockKelly Jackson. WOW! A perfectly timed block on Austin's attempt at goal sees her come up with clean ball and once again the Silver Ferns do more scoreboard damage. Less than five minutes to go till the first break of the game.SCORE: New Zealand lead 10-5Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:51pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:51pmKoenen hits the deckThe Australians are working overtime trying to feed the shooters who are being forced off their hold and smothered by the Silver Ferns defence. A ball meant for Koenen sails out of court as she falls on her back and New Zealand make it count.SCORE: New Zealand lead 9-5Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:50pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:50pmFive goals in a row for NZThe pace of this game is so entertaining and the score is fast slipping away from the visiting Diamonds.SCORE: New Zealand lead 8-4Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:48pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:48pmBurger interceptGoal defence Burger pinches posession in the Diamonds' goal third and Nweke rewards her with a goal.SCORE: New Zealand lead 7-4Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:47pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:47pmNZ brimming with confidenceFive minutes into the game and the Silver Ferns have the edge. Heffernan drives along the baseline and scores nice and close under the post.SCORE: New Zealand lead 5-4Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:44pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:44pmNZ hit the leadNew Zealand's defenders are up and about early. They force a held ball for Liz Watson and go back-to-back.SCORE: New Zealand lead 2-1Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:42pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:42pmNew Zealand on the boardNweke answers at the other end for the Silver Ferns.SCORE: Level 1-allSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:41pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:41pmThe game is underwayFirst centre pass is Australia's and Austin slots the first goal.SCORE: Australia leads 1-0Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:34pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:34pmStarting 7s are inWe now know who will hit the court at Auckland City Arena for the opening game.AUSTRALIAThe Diamonds have made several changes to their starting line-up from the bronze medal match in Glasgow. Koenen get the start ahead of Garbin. Without Moloney available there's a shift in the midcourt with captain Watson starting at centre, allowing Horjus to take the WA bib. Meanwhile, Garrett starts in GD with Weston ruled out of the series.GS – Cara KoenenGA – Kiera AustinWA – Georgie HorjusC – Liz WatsonWD – Jamie-Lee PriceGD – Matilda GarrettGK – Courtney BruceSUBS: Sophie Dwyer, Sophie Garbin, Jessie Grenvold, Sarah Klau, Amy ParmenterNEW ZEALANDThe Silver Ferns have also made some changes to the starting seven that won gold. Reuelu-Buchanan misses out, Heffernan takes her spot at WD and that moves Gordon to centre and allows Poi to start the game at WA.GS – Grace NwekeGA – Georgia HeffernanWA – Kimiora PoiC – Maddy GordonWD – Kate HeffernanGD – Karin BurgerGK – Kelly JacksonSUBS: Parris Mason, Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, Ta Paea Selby-Rickit, Carys Stythe, Amelia WalmsleySun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:33pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:33pmSarah Klau's inclusionDefender Sarah Klau was still named in Australia’s Constellation Cup squad despite being fined $5,000 by Netball Australia and handed a two-match ban for breaching the sport’s code of conduct and bringing the game into disrepute.Klau plead guilty in a Sydney court to common assault after kicking a bouncer in the back when she was denied entry to a pub back in June. The matter came to light after Klau played in the team at the Commonwealth Games and an investigation was launched into the timeline of events to determine whether the athlete knew they were being summoned to court prior to leaving the country for Scotland.Ultimately, the sanction has been suspended by Netball Australia for 12 months pending good behaviour. This cleared Klau to play in the Constellation Cup but fans have still been divided on her inclusion. Its likely the omission already of fellow defender Jo Weston impacted the decision to keep her in the Diamonds squad.Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:32pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:32pmMilestonesCourtney Bruce is set to play her 100th cap and become the Diamonds' seventh ceturion tonight. Bruce is also the second defender to reach the milestone after Liz Ellis.Meanwhile, if Sophie Garbin comes off the bench she will hit 50 Tests. Captain Liz Watson is also expected to claim the record for most Constellation Cup games (37) overtaking Kiwi legend and fellow midcourter Laura Langman. If defender Jessie Grenvold makes it on court, it will be her international debut.Liz Ellis (defender) 122 games Sharelle McMahon (shooter) 118 gamesCath Cox (shooter) 108 gamesLiz Watson (midcourter) 108 games Vicki Wilson (shooter) 104 gamesCaitlin Bassett (shooter) 102 gamesCourtney Bruce (defender) 100 gamesSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:30pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:30pmThe squad listsBoth team's have built their 14-player squads around the Commonwealth Games but there are some changes.AUSTRALIA: There will be no Jo Weston this series for the Diamonds after the defender ruled herself out. Weston wanted to take a break to rest her body and focus on her Masters studies at Deakin University. Added to the squad are all three Commonwealth Games reserves: Donnell Wallam, Amy Parmenter and Jessie Grenvold.NEW ZEALAND: The Silver Ferns will be without Catherine Hall as she recovers from an ACL injury she sustained in Glasgow. They have also added three of their six reserves from the major tournament: Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Peta Toeava and Parris Mason.According to Netball Scoop:Overall, the Diamonds have 211 games worth of Constellation Cup experience, compared to the Silver Ferns with 140.Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:26pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:26pm#DressGateThe dress that caused a stir in Glasgow for potentially being too short made by Commonwealth Games Australia uniform provider Valour Sport will not be used for this series. This actually has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding the major tournament as that dress was specifically made for the Games and would not have been used beyond that event anyway. However, it was important following that drama that Netball Australia ensure its next kit would be fit for purpose, taking on athlete feedback and midcourter Jamie-Lee Price worked closely with new provider ASICS to design a dress for this series that hopefully won’t hitch up while the team is in action. There is reportedly a different one in the works with ASICS for next year’s Netball World Cup in Sydney.“Athletes come in all shapes and sizes and you want to make sure that they all feel comfortable in the dress, so that’s probably been the priority for us as players is to have something that is functional and doesn’t just look great when you’re standing still, so far it’s been awesome,” Amy Parmenter told ABC Sport.Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:23pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:23pmThe Kiwi influxIt'll be interesting to see how each team fares after so much exposure to each other in the domestic Super Netball season. With unlimited imports allowed in the Australian league and New Zealand's competition struggling in recent years, there has been a big influx of Kiwi talent that now get to train alongside and play against the Diamonds every week.Next season there has been even more New Zealand players signed and once this Constellation Cup wraps up Diamond Sophie Dwyer and Silver Fern Grace Nweke will link up for pre-season training as new teammates at the Sydney Sirens. Dwyer told ABC Sport that Nweke was a huge threat in this series.“We’re both really excited about what our shooting partnership could be but I am looking forward to knowing her more post Constellation Cup when we are into the thick of pre-season with the Sirens."That’s the beauty of Super Netball we have so many people that are our rivals one day and teammates the next.”Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:16pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:16pmWorld ranking on the lineThis series is REALLY important when it comes to world rankings.After an unbeaten run at the Commonwealth Games, New Zealand closed the gap in the ratings, while Australia’s semi-final loss to Jamaica proved very costly.The opportunity to leapfrog Australia and take the world number one ranking is apparently something the Silver Ferns had spoken about."We've put it out there on day one [in camp],"head coach Noeline Taurua told the media."There is the opportunity, we have to win all four games to be in the number one position, if we win three then we're even."Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:14pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:14pmNo more series deciderSince 2014, with both nations eager to hold an equal number of Tests, the Constellation Cup has been a four-game series decided by goal aggregate. This has been an ongoing bug bear for fans, who would prefer to see three of five games played with hosting duties switched each year to make it fair across the countries.Instead in 2024, a series decider was added by organisers to the format to try and make it more exciting. It wasn’t required that year, with New Zealand winning 3-1, but was required in 2025 with the series locked at 2-all in Christchurch.At the end of the game, a 12-minute break was held before two seven-minute halves were played as a tiebreaker. Australia won the series outright in this period but lost defender Sunday Aryang to a devastating ACL injury in the dying seconds. Kiwi stars Maddy Gordon and Kate Heffernan both dealt with cramps and were forced to come off during the additional time period.Amy Parmenter (centre) agrees with the decision. (Supplied: ASICS)The decider has now been ditched for the 2026 series. Organisers insist it had nothing to do with Aryang’s injury. Even so, Diamonds midcourter Amy Parmenter told ABC Sport it was the right choice:“We do as much prep as we can but to play that many games across two weeks and then to add an unlimited amount of time depending on the game result, I think the priority is to make sure we’re not overdoing it."Seeing what did come out of last year with Sunday, I’m not saying that’s the reason, but in October we’re not fresh off the back of the domestic season and it is quite a demand on the body to play 60 plus minutes, so I support the decision.”Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:07pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:07pmNZ coach says pressure is on AusNew Zealand has only won the Constellation Cup three times (2012, 2012 and 2024) but comes into the series in better shape, off the back of winning gold at the Commonwealth Games. However, neither of these teams met at the major tournament, starting in opposite pools.This opening Test in Christchurch will mark the first time Noeline Taurua has coached the Silver Ferns on home soil in two years, after copping a controversial suspension in 2025 that caused a massive rift in the sport.“We know that Netball World Cup [next year] is in August in Sydney so I'd like to think maybe the pressure is on them at the moment,” Taurua told Radio New Zealand.“It's an opportunity for us to consolidate from Commonwealth Games but also possibly to see what we can do to give others an opportunity. So it's a fine line we're going to tread, but definitely working ourselves towards Netball World Cup."You can read more about that here from Bridget Tunnicliffe.Sun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:05pmSun 18 Oct 2026 at 5:05pmThe heartbreak of GlasgowAustralian shooter Sophie Dwyer hasn't had much time to get over the team's devastating loss in the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games. Brought on very late in the game, Dwyer missed the Diamonds' last shot at goal to tie the match against Jamaica and send it into extra-time. Dwyer didn't make it on court during the bronze medal match the next day. Tonight she's been named on the bench.“I reflect on Comm Games and it was probably the highest of highs and lowest of lows in one week,” Dwyer told ABC Sport earlier this month.Sophie Dwyer interacts with a young fan at the team's dress launch. (Supplied: ASICS)“I’ve had to do a lot of mental work on that, it was the hardest couple of days I’ve experienced in my career, but the girls and Stacey Marinkovich were amazing."I felt the whole netball community get behind me ... There was so much disappointment with how we finished but the way that we bounced back in less than 24 hours and came together to win bronze is something that we’re really proud of."Not everyone leaves with a Commonwealth Games medal. At the same time our expectations of ourselves and what other people expect of us is gold and we want to keep being that number one team in the world, so we have done a lot of reflection and that’s why I think it’s so exciting that we’re about to test ourselves against the team that did get gold and we haven’t played them in a year."