Liz was giving us her pre-game rah rah. “This is it girls. Two/nil and if we don’t pull this next rubber off, we’ll be the laughing stock of the whole country. The Constellation Cup will be lost again!”
Everyone was keyed up. Nervous chatter in the dressing rooms had quietened as the team absorbed the specific strategies and plays within the coach’s final instructions.
Peta Toeava’s injury was going to be a blessing. Her speed, accuracy and effortless court-work had terrorized us in the previous two matches. From her Wing Attack position, she had absolutely scorched Liz Watson, setting up countless attacks, exploiting our defensive weaknesses and enabling the machinery from across the ditch to fire, seamlessly.
Our decision to tell Gina to take her Hancock Prospecting sponsorship and ‘shove-it’, was proving a distraction. To some extent it had split the team – those wanting the security of the deal, against those awakening to the historical racism and the company’s impacts on planetary futures. A couple of the girls noted that Origin Energy sponsorship decals were still on our uniforms and were suggesting pinning a blank square over it. Safety concerns scotched that idea, but the inconsistent messaging was noted and agreement for further, future discussions.
There were a few nervous tears in the rooms before the game, but we were stealing ourselves, rebuilding the aura that had us on top of the rankings over the past few seasons. There was a capacity crowd inside Melbourne’s John Cain arena, the cacophony was deafening and as the teams made their way onto the court, the cheer squads were working the crowds. It went quiet.
The Kiwis took the first pass, and away they went. A huge court-length pass saw the first of six unanswered goals. And it all went black for most of the opening session. The crowd were on their feet, whistling, cheering. Excitement was building. The camera’s picked up Julia Gillard in the crowd, sitting next to Julie Bishop, both wearing green and gold and cheering madly.
Quarter time saw us down by four goals. It could have been worse, save for some brilliant attacking from Sophie Garbin. A great decision to have her as GS, complementing the precise work from Steph Wood at GA. Watson was demonstrating her skilful midfield play and the Diamonds had swung the early deficit into a 31:22 halftime lead.
There was raw energy on display, the girls sensing a gear-change, arrow-straight attack work that was delivering a confidence not seen in the previous two games. But the Ferns mounted a challenge, bringing the deficit back to just five points.
Gina was spotted in a corporate box, cheering as the Ferns delivered three straight goals. The commentator proffered that she might be about to make a New Zealand sponsorship offer!
The rest is history. The diamonds needed a three-point lead to avoid a dead rubber in the fourth. The 62:47 final scorecard ensured our girls were a step closer to reclaiming the Trans-Tasman cup.