Australia have cruised to an 84-38 win over Tonga in their second match of the Netball World Cup, despite the “showtime” excitement provided by Tala Cat Tuivaiti.
Tonga were impressive in the opening term and trailed by just two goals at the first change, leaving a “frustrated” Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich to rev up her side on the bench.
And the speech worked as the Diamonds went on a 10-goal run to open the second, forcing Tonga to bring Tuivaiti onto the court at goal shooter.
The former Silver Fern and Samoa representative brought the fireworks with look-away balls and over the shoulder passes to excite her teammates and crowd.
But it wasn’t enough as Australia once again got all 12 out on court to cruise home to victory.
Sophie Garbin finished the pick of the Diamonds shooters with 42/26 at 91% in just a half of netball. While for Tonga, it was former Collingwood Magpies training partner Uneeq Palavi who did the damage with her 27/31.