Starting 7s are in!
AUSTRALIA
GS Jerome Gillbard
GA Brodie Roberts
WA Riley Richardson
C Liam Forcadilla
WD Dylan Nexhip (c)
GD Alastair Punshon
GK Josh Byron
Substitutes: Killey, Lee-Tauroa, Miller, Nikolic, Vandervelde
Head coach: Nerida Stewart
NEW ZEALAND
GS Raerino
GA Matuku
WA Hynes
C Tangira (c)
WD Dalton
GD Grady
GK Tukaki
Substitutes: Apapa, Apisai, Bartels, Clark, Vercoe
Head coach: Helene Wilson
Dravyn Lee-Tauroa shifts to the front of the court
There aren’t too many changes for the Australian team, who come in as a well-oiled machine.
However, keep an eye out for Dravyn Lee-Tauroa. Who was previously in the national set-up as a defender and now after a year’s break from the game has returned in the shooting end. Positional swings can be more common in the men’s game and Lee-Tauroa is one example!
Enter Kruze Tangira
It is a new look team for New Zealand but one player they’ll be excited to have back in 2024 is Kruze Tangira. He is one of the most recognised men’s players in netball and has been working hard in the media space during his break from the court. Having Tangira’s experience back in the midcourt will be invaluable for the Net Blacks, especially in the centre bib. He is also their captain for the series.
No Junior Levi
Big changes for New Zealand’s line-up.
This year, we won’t see Junior Levi grace the court for the Net Blacks. Standing at 2.14m tall, the past few series have seen New Zealand focus on sending the ball long and high into the shooting circle to find Levi. An extremely strong target, the quicker they threw it in the better, so a lot of the time that feed came way off the circle edge and high in the goal third.
He shot 124 of their 144 goals in the 2023 series.
Without Levi in play, the Australians are expecting a very different style of play from their opponents. Instead they believe the team’s attacking plans will involve working it to the circle edge patiently and feeding from there. This will mean there are potentially less intercept chances for the Kelpie defenders. Should be an interesting watch!
Update
Hello! Welcome to ABC Sport’s live blog on the women’s Constellation Cup and men’s Trans-Tasman Cup.
We’re kicking things off today with the Australian Kelpies against the New Zealand Net Blacks, as the men play first in the double header in Wellington.
Men’s Trans-Tasman Cup:
Game 1 – Sunday October 20: Wellington
Game 2 – Wednesday October 23: Auckland
Game 3 – Sunday October 27: Canberra
Game 4 – Wednesday October 30: Melbourne
Women’s Constellation Cup:
Game 1 – Sunday October 20: Wellington
Game 2 – Wednesday October 23: Auckland
Game 3 – Sunday October 27: Perth
Game 4 – Wednesday October 30: Melbourne
Last year, the Kelpies swept the series 3-0. For the first time in 2024 though, the trophy will be contested over four games to closer replicate the women’s series.
Stay tuned and we’ll keep you up to date with all the action as it unfolds across the ditch! And feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
