Australian netball great Nat Medhurst has delivered some brutal truths to the “shell shocked” Diamonds after the world champions coughed up the Constellation Cup on Sunday.
The game three loss – their third by a double digit margin that saw the Silver Ferns claim the Cup for just the third time in history – was marred by simple repeat errors in Perth.
Medhurst said she expected better from the world number one ranked Australia.
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“There’s been so many changes to try and fix something and it hasn’t been fixed,” she said on Fox Netball.
“They haven’t seemed to have learnt from one Test match to the next.
“(Coach Stacey) Marinkovich, you couldn’t have asked her to try anything more than what she did. She threw changes out there aplenty across every single game.
“Break, stepping, fumbles, they are costly and it happened across every single Test match.
“We’ve got world championship players not wanting to go to the post.
“They should be better than this.
“It’s been quite sadly consistent across the three Test matches.”
Ex-Silver Fern Cat Tuivaiti said “alarm bells” would be ringing in the Diamonds camp as a result of the three consecutive beatings.
She described Australia’s third quarter meltdown – where they coughed up an 18-9 goal term – as “unacceptable” from the world champions.
The Aussies had opted to leave more than 150 Test caps of experience out of the squad for the do-or-die Perth game with Jo Weston, Kiera Austin and Kate Moloney all dropped.
But the changes to the squad did little to rattle the Ferns, who marched on to their three-straight win to secure the Cup crown.
Marinkovich admitted it was simple mistakes that cost her side, but said there was plenty to learn from.
“The gap between our best and not is too far,” she said.
“I think we’re a bit mentally fatigued at the moment.
“There’s mistakes that are happening and it’s just not the norm.
“All the girls sitting in the room are hurting, and we’ll take responsibility as to where we want to go.”
The Diamonds don’t have long to dwell on the series loss with the final dead rubber to be held in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Pride is at stake for the world champions, as Australia have never fallen to a Constellation Cup whitewash.
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