Grace Nweke stands tall as Silver Ferns beat Aotearoa Men in series-opener

Grace Nweke would likely have been one of the players Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua was seeking a clear improvement from in her next outing.

The teenager literally put her hands up to show Taurua that she does have a big international future with a starring role as the New Zealand side defeated Aotearoa Men 58-47 in the first of three games in Wellington on Sunday night.

Nweke was introduced at the start of the second quarter, with the Ferns trailing 16-9 after “fart-arseing around” as Taurua eloquently described it in the break after the initial 15 minutes.

She rapidly changed the tenor of the game, with her presence and physicality enabling her to dominate the circle.

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After trailing 18-9 and with the game rapidly slipping away from the world champs, Nweke took over the scoring and had her side level at 21-21 with 4:35 left in the half as New Zealand scored six times without reply.

Nweke had more shots herself (15) than the NZ shooting circle pair had combined in the first quarter, making 13 and adding four rebounds.

She ended with 39 goals from 44 attempts as the Ferns outscored their rivals 20-10 in the final quarter.

The 19-year-old’s display came after she struggled in her introduction to the international scene in the 2-1 series defeat to England last month.

Taurua said prior to the series staring against the men’s select side for a third successive year that some of her squad were exposed by the defending Commonwealth Games gold medallists.

Nweke was used in combinations with Jamie Hume, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Maia Wilson as New Zealand came from behind as their opponents tired late.

The first-choice defensive duo of Kelly Jury and Karin Burger also stood out after a tough opening 15 minutes. Scores were level at the major break and New Zealand led by just a goal with one quarter remaining before pulling away.

The Aotearoa Men’s side was an understrength combination after six players in the original squad were denied travel exemptions out of Level Three regions for the series – which was originally scheduled to be played in Hamilton.

In the four meetings previously between the two sides in 2019 and 2020, the Ferns had scored just one victory – a 55-52 triumph last October.

The Silver Ferns began with a starting seven of Wilson, Selby-Rickit, Gina Crampton, Maddy Gordon, Claire Kersten, Burger and Jury.

Experienced midcourter Sam Winders was left out of the squad for the opening encounter as she continued re rehabilitation on a lower back strain, while shooter Tiana Metuarau isn’t fully recovered following an adductor strain.

The men’s side quickly picked up a 4-1 lead and while the Silver Ferns reduced the deficit, they were having trouble with the speed of movement and size of their rivals when attacking.

The defensive circle of Victor Godsmark-White and Jaryn Tainui restricted Wilson and Selby-Rickit to 9/14 shooting while at the other end, Jay Geldard proved the perfect target for centre Nick Grimmer and Eriata Vercoe.

The 2.04m goal shoot missed just one of his 36 shots and should again be a major threat in game two in Wellington on Monday night.

New Zealand 58 (Grace Nweke 39/44, Maia Wilson 12/21, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 5/13, Jamie Hume 2/8) beat Aotearoa Men 47 (Jay Geldard 35/36, Daniel Jefferies 6/7, Amosa Faitaua-Nanai 6/7). 1Q 9-18, HT 24-24, 3Q 38-37.