Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua has plenty of food for thought heading into this month's Birmingham Commonwealth Games, after her side fell to a one-sided 61-46 defeat to NZ Men at Auckland on Thursday.
Towering shooter Jay Geldard was immense for the NZ Men, sinking 35 of his 37 attempts on goal to help his side book their place in Saturday's Quad Series final at Pulman Arena.
The Ferns couldn't repeat the form that saw them defeat NZ A in impressive fashion on Wednesday, as they struggled to find an answer to the size of the men, particularly in the shooting circle, where Geldard wreaked havoc on their defence.
While the NZ Men have traditionally had the upper hand on the Silver Ferns, the 15-goal margin of victory is the largest between the two sides since the series began, surpassing the previous mark of 13.
Back on the sidelines after missing the Ferns' opening match due to COVID-19, Dame Noeline took the opportunity to experiment with several different line-ups, as she looks to settle on her best seven for Birmingham.
Perhaps the most concerning statistic for Taurua would have been the shooting accuracy, with her side landing just 74 percent (46/62) of their efforts on goal against the typically physical men's defence.
Led by standouts Dan Rich and Matt Wetere, the men's team forced a whopping 22 turnovers, which they clinically converted to goals.
Star shooter Grace Nweke was rested for the match as a precaution, after taking a blow to her knee during the win over NZ A the night prior.
As her replacement, Taurua opted to start Te Paea Selby-Rickit, shifting Maia Wilson to goal attack. Both shot a poor clip by their normal standards, with Selby-Rickit managing just 14 of 19 and Wilson 23 of 29.
After being locked 12-12 at the end of a tight first quarter, the men exploded out of the blocks in the second to take a 29-23 advantage into the halftime interval.
The Ferns' shooting woes saw that lead extend to 47-33 by the end of the third quarter, as the men closed out the contest in the final stanza.
In the opening game of the night, the Mixed Invitational side claimed a comfortable 59-47 victory over NZ A, who remain winless through two games.
