But none of those motivations were evident in their lacklustre display in the opener.
There seemed to be more energy and urgency about the Ferns tonight, with the homeside running with Australia for the first half to be level heading into the long break. But Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander held more aces up her sleeve, with some clever changes to her side in the second half the catalyst for a convincing 10-goal win.
Like the opening test, the Ferns started confidently on attack, moving the ball well around their attacking third and getting good length to their play. But with the defence end barely able to move without incurring the whistle of Jamaican umpire Dave Brown, there were few turnovers forth-coming and the first quarter went goal-for-goal for the most part, with Australia holding a 14-13 lead at the first break.
A 5-1 run at the beginning of the second quarter saw the Ferns spring out to a 18-15 lead, prompting Australian captain Laura Geitz to call a tactical injury time-out to address her side's sloppy start to the spell. The Diamonds looked uncharacteristically muddled on attack, with newcomer Paige Hadley still finding her place in the midcourt.
After quiet opening quarter, the Ferns defensive pairing of Katrina Grant and Casey Kopua also came into the game in the second spell, confusing the space for the outside feeders.
But it was shooters Bailey Mes and Jodi Brown coming up with the big defensive plays, with both notching up intercepts before halftime.
Despite some wobbly moments, Australia managed to peg back the advantage they handed New Zealand, leveling the score at 27-all by halftime.
Both sides made changes to their defensive ends for the second half, with Taumaunu opting for an entirely new pairing, while her Australian counterpart Lisa Alexander made more of a tweak.
After making a strong impact off the bench in the final quarter in Christchurch two days earlier, young defender Phoenix Karaka was introduced at halftime last night, pairing up with Leana de Bruin in the goal circle.
As she did in the opening test, Karaka made an immediate impact forcing a turnover on Australia's first possession.
But Australia's attack end soon gained the ascendancy after Alexander threw a curveball at the Kiwi side by introducing 1.93m shooter Gretel Tippett at wing attack in place of Hadley. The extra height of Tippett, who was playing in her first international, helped minimize Cullen's effectiveness at wing defence.
While the Diamonds attack end seemed to go from strength to strength as the match wore on, the opposite was happening at the other end of the court as Brown and Mes tired from the constant pressure of the Australian defence, with their shooting stats falling away late in the game.
The series now moves across the Tasman, with Melbourne to host the third test on Sunday, before wrapping up in Perth next Friday.
