The Australian Sonix proved too good for New Zealand in the trans-Tasman test series fought recently in Victoria.
Australia won all three matches in both the men’s and mixed open divisions, while the Kiwi 23 and under men’s side proved too strong for the Sonix to win all three tight battles.
NSW open Captain and Australian open player Daniel Sommer said winning all three games was Australia’s goal from the beginning.
“The one thing I noticed straight away was that we all had the same goal in mind: to win the series with a three-nil whitewash,” Sommer said.
“There’s a concern when you bring ten very talented players together with limited preparation that each player will play as individuals and not a team. But I don’t believe this happened.”
Sommer said Australia had accurately predicted how the Kiwis would play.
“We knew that the New Zealand men’s style of play would be similar to the women’s off-style zone defense with a lot of short, sharp passes,” he said.
“To combat this we had to let the ball do the work and use the speed in fitness in our squad.”
But after a hefty loss in the first test, New Zealand changed strategy and it rattled the Sonix.
“In the second and third test, the Kiwis changed their style of play and it took us some time to counteract it.” Sommer said.
“But we knew that netball is a 60-minute game and in the end the strength of the Aussie bench and our fitness and skill level is what got us over the line.”
There was plenty of excitement in the 23 and under division where the margins were three goals, one goal and five goals respectively.
VMNL have labeled the series a resounding success, with more than 1200 people attending the three tests in Geelong, Pakenham and Melbourne.