Preview: Australia v New Zealand
Date - Wednesday 18th July at 7.30pm NZT
Venue - Vector Arena, Auckland
Last Encounter - Australia 50 def. New Zealand 47, May 2007
Preview - With three games to be played between these two powerhouse nations before the World Championships, both results and form are all-important. The Australians have held a slight edge over the current world champion recently but the Silver Ferns have made a few changes to their line and will be out to prove to not only themselves but also to their fans and their country's press that they are on track to win back-to-back world titles. This series will provide a great indication as to where the two sides stand and who deserves to head into the worlds as the team to beat.
The Australians - The Australians are looking good and are determined to continue their winning ways. After a scare in the opening Test against the Jamaicans they surged in the second Test to post a very convincing victory. Mo'onia Gerrard is the only omission from the side for this series due to a calf injury, with Queensland mid-courter Lauren Nourse her replacement. Gerrard's absence opens up the door for Bianca Chatfield and Julie Prendergast to gain some valuable court time against the world's best and stake their claim for the goal defence position. The shooting circle will again be a hot area for the Aussies with all four shooters more than capable of handling the pressure from the Kiwis with top form and deadly accuracy on their side. The Cath Cox and Susan Pratley battle for the secondary goaling role alongside vice-captain Sharelle McMahon is heating up as coach Norma Plummer has some serious decisions to make ahead of the World Championships in November. Having won five of the past six matches against the Ferns, the Aussies will be looking to gain the all-important psychological edge. Plummer has stated that she is more inclined to fine-tune her top-seven line-up as opposed to rotating her side as she wants her players to go into the World Championships full of confidence knowing that they can regain No.1 status. Every time Australia comes up against the Kiwis the main aim is to shut down shooting machine Irene Van Dyk and to do so, it's just as important to limit the effectiveness of the players surrounding her. The speed of the Aussie attack is a feature of their play and it's proven time and again that when they combine their blistering foot speed with the speed of the ball, they put any opposition on the back foot.
The Silver Ferns - The defending world champions come into this match on the back of two very impressive wins over world No.3 Jamaica. After below-par performances in the United Kingdom in May the Kiwis will be out to prove that they are back on track and ready to take on the in-form Aussies. The Kiwis will be without defender Anna Scarlett and arguably the world's best centre, Temepara George, for this series but they have selected two new faces in mid-courter Maree Bowden and goaler Paula Griffith, who made their respective debuts against Jamaica. The Silver Ferns will most likely run with the defensive combination of Casey Williams and Joeline Henry and their efforts against the Jamaicans were standouts in the