Dana Johannsen: Many improvements, but Ferns still have work to do

A stunning 11-goal win over Australia in their final Constellation Cup saw the Ferns finish the year with three wins from their six outings against the Diamonds. Photo / Getty Images

The results tell a more positive story for the Silver Ferns in 2015, but they make for frustrating reading all the same.

If 2014 was a case of what never was, this year was a tale of what could have been, and what the New Zealand side will believe should have been.

A stunning 11-goal win over Australia in their final Constellation Cup clash over the weekend saw the Ferns finish the year with three wins from their six outings against the Diamonds. Remarkably, the two sides also finished the year with equal for and against records from those six matches.

It marks a stark difference from the numbers at the end of a miserable 2014 season, in which New Zealand lost all five matches against Australia by an average of 12.2 goals.

And yet despite the obvious improvement, the Ferns' trophy cabinet remains empty.

The Silver Ferns have proven they are every bit the match for Australia, just not on the big occasions. Their performances against the Diamonds at the World Cup in Sydney were awe-inspiring for all but one quarter of their two matches. That horror 16-7 opening quarter of the final ultimately cost them the crown.

After an ordinary start to the Constellation Cup series, in which they dropped the opening two games by margins of six and 10 goals, the Ferns did an impressive job of fighting back with two wins on Australian soil. Needing to win by at least 14 in the final test in Perth to claim the silverware, the Ferns nearly pulled off the miracle result to send coach Waimarama Taumaunu and some of the senior players out on a high.

It must be said, to even get themselves into a position to claim the trophy was an incredible effort. But again, as the Ferns closed in on the magical 14-goal mark in the final two minutes and the chance to secure the silverware suddenly became a very real possibility, the panicked passes set in and the game plan that had served them so well for most of the season eluded them.

While they won't take anything tangible away from the season, the changes instituted by Taumaunu this year has set a strong platform for the future.

The young players in the team - some of whom had only known defeat to Australia at both international and ANZ Championship level - now believe they can topple the Diamonds.

But if they are to convert that growth into major titles, they must learn to win the big moments.

Silver Ferns v Australia

2014

Commonwealth Games final 40-58
Constellation Cup game 1 42-59
Constellation Cup game 2 40-49
Constellation Cup game 3 34-47
Constellation Cup game 4 47-51
Total 203-264

2015

World Cup (poolplay) 52-47
World Cup final 55-58
Constellation Cup game 1 44-50
Constellation Cup game 2 48-58
Constellation Cup game 3 50-47
Constellation Cup game 4 58-47
Total 307-307