Well, what an entertaining start to the 2024 Constellation Cup that was. Again, well done to New Zealand on pulling off such a big upset in the opening game and we look forward to seeing what they bring to the court in three days' time in Auckland for Game 2.

The Kelpies and Net Blacks will also play Game 2 of the Trans-Tasman Cup on Wednesday. We'll be live blogging both games, so make sure to check back on the ABC Sport page for more analysis.

Agree with you! I did watch the Taini Jamison series and the first game was certainly competitive, but the Silver Ferns seems to be humming along at another level now. Maybe playing these series back-to-back has helped them gain momentum? While the Aussies had a break after England flew to New Zealand. I do think though that the Silver Ferns were simply fired up after everyone discussing their bad form and drop in the World Rankings. It felt like they had a real point to prove!

Something we haven't discussed yet is the presence of Briony Akle in the Silver Ferns camp. The two-time NSW Swifts premiership winning head coach was appointed as their assistant coach under Noeline Taurua for this Constellation Cup.

In the Super Netball environment she works with Sarah Klau and Paige Hadley on a daily basis. And Taurua spent a couple of weeks with the Swifts during the domestic season working as an assistant under Akle.

Without trying to claim New Zealand's success tonight was due to an Australian, it would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall during the Silver Ferns prep and what insights Akle had to share with the team! And how much did Noeline learn from her time spent in the Super Netball set-up?

Not much different in these stats, other than New Zealand getting more hand to ball defensively and Australia turning it over with six more turnovers.

Again, not a heap different here. It probably shows the level of intensity and competitiveness seen in this game. New Zealand were slick in attack, while the Diamonds made a range of mistakes - but for the most part, were still playing at an okay standard.

Well, she had a stellar game and Gordon thoroughly deserves her Player of the Match award in Game 1 of the Constellation Cup for her 29 feeds, 26 goal assists, one intercept, two pickups and eight second-phase receives. Did a mountain of work!

Oh wow, it turns out the Silver Ferns' 64 goal tally marks their highest score over the Diamonds ever in regular time. Well done! They had plenty of critics leading into this series. Now it feels like the sky is the limit ahead of Game 2 in Auckland on Wednesday.

Thanks for following along Natty! It's fair to say the kiwi side have made a statement after that bad news during the week, seeing them slip from second to third in the world rankings. 

They were clearly fired up from the very first whistle!

If they can string a couple of victories together against the Diamonds in the Constellation Cup, they could  quickly move back up to second rank ... Depending on the results in the upcoming England vs Jamaican series.

We didn't expect that! Well done to the Silver Ferns. A wonderful team effort. What a way to start the series. The Diamonds hoodoo in the land of the long white cloud continues. They've now lost their past seven matches in New Zealand.

With just two minutes left in the game, Noeline Taurua has made her first substitution. Australian-born midcourter and former Netball Word Youth Cup player, Claire O'Brien takes the court for the very first time against her old teammates.

O'Brien never quite reached the Diamonds set-up during her time in the Australian program but she did play for both the Swifts and Giants in Super Netball before moving across the ditch to play in the New Zealand Premiership.

With two Māori parents, O'Brien was able to get her citizenship and be treated as a domestic player rather than an import. A few weeks ago, she debuted for the Silver Ferns against England. It's a proud moment for her family.

Three minutes left in the game and Dwyer is called for an offensive contact as the Wellington crowd soaks up this win. Maybe Austin should have come back on after the Dwyer breaking call. Often a spell on the bench can do wonders for a player, showing them what they were doing wrong and where they can make an impact. Austin would probably revel in that challenge.

SCORE: 60-49 New Zealand's way