Netball: Silver Ferns net cricket score in first contest

It was always going to be a question of by how much, despite the forlorn hopes of netball minnows St Vincent and The Grenadines, and the Silver Ferns answered with a 98-31 victory to open their Games campaign yesterday.

St Vincent centre Saska Diamond had forecast an upset win for her team, but it was five minutes before they even got on the scoreboard - to the biggest roar of the afternoon - and by the end of the first quarter it was 29-3 to the Silver Ferns.

The New Zealanders may not have been expecting what happened next - St Vincent's robust goalshoot Samathea Christopher moving to goalkeeper for the second quarter - but it was at the other end of the court where the Caribbean side improved markedly with some brilliant shooting by Galeine Gordon, who had shifted from wing attack.

It was 51-15 at halftime and New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken rang the changes for the second half, with Temepara George returning to centre, Anna Rowberry shifting from there to wing attack and Maria Tutaia coming in at goal attack.

Tutaia's role in the team has become more significant since the return home of goal attack Jodi Te Huna with a knee injury.

While Tutaia was hesitant in the goal circle for the first couple of minutes, she soon settled into a consistent goal-scoring rhythm.

Te Huna's replacement, Jessica Tuki, made her debut for the Silver Ferns in the final quarter but struggled to find precision in her shooting.

It was 78-20 at three-quarter time.

As the clock wound down the main interest became whether the Silver Ferns would be able to notch a century against opposition who never gave it away.

Tuki missed a late chance and it was the St Vincent side who scored the last points to deny the Silver Ferns 100.

Aitken admitted the Silver Ferns' performance was "a little bit up and down at times" and also that the players failed to meet all their standards, but she saw good patches from all 12 in her squad.

"That is what we expected in the first game and it will keep them on their toes as they move on through," Aitken said.

She was impressed with the manner in which the St Vincent players kept on at the Silver Ferns and never shirked from their task.

Aitken said there would be relief for the players that they had finally started their Games campaign.

"It feels as if we have been preparing forever," she said.

"They can move on now and get on with the job."

Aitken rotated her players throughout the match and said while that made the game's flow difficult, it was something at which they had to get better.

"We want to make changes and for them to be seamless."

Aitken was impressed with Tutaia and goal defender Anna Scarlett, and said Tuki would be pleased to get a diffident start out of the way.

"For Jess, it was a pretty nervous one.

"She didn't know she was going out until getting the call five minutes before."

Belinda Colling took a knock on an ankle in the first quarter and didn't take the court in the final half, but Aitken said it was her plan to rest her.

Colling said she knocked the ankle when she stood on shooter Irene van Dyk's foot.

"It is fine now," she said.

- NZPA