The NZ Men have won silver at the FAST5 Netball World Series after a long bomb from Australia sunk their hopes of a FAST5 trifecta.
Australia shooter Jordon Webb netted the winning four points as his side beat the NZ Men for the first time in a FAST5 final, winning 32-30.
NZ Men’s coach Taz Tawhara said she was extremely proud of what the Kiwis had put out on court in front of a “great Christchurch crowd”.
“It comes down to many moments,” she said. “It was always going to be a tight match against Australia. Nothing went wrong we still played to the best of our ability, and it was just the way that the ball fell.”
Australia shifted gear early in the fourth quarter to build a lead before the NZ Men stormed home, looking to have the game in the bag before Webb landed the last second goal.
Both teams took time to find their rhythm in the early stages of the final and despite a number of turnovers, went goal for goal.
Australia opted for young shooter William Whiteacre, who is in Year 10 at school, to start the match and he rewarded the coach’s faith with some big first quarter points for his team.
The NZ Men, who had beaten Australia 32-28 in pool play, looked to have grabbed the initiative back through Mikaira Raerino’s four points before Australia rounded out the spell with a power point play to go into the break with a 13-10 lead.
The introduction of Liam Killey kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Australians as they entered the second power play with a handy five-point lead.
Neither side could take advantage of the extra points on offer and the NZ Men entered the main break trailing 13-17.
The work from Timothy Apisai put doubt into the Australian shooters and with Thomson Matuku finding their range in the shooting circle, the NZ Men edged ahead on the scoreboard.
Both teams tightened the defensive screws through the third power play and the two were deadlocked 23 apiece heading into the deciding quarter.