New Zealand will be stoked they've been able to take a 2-0 series lead in Constellation Cup. It marks four straight series of consistent success on home soil, keeping Australia winless across a total eight games.

But how will they fare on Australian soil? Typically, the Diamonds tend to bounce back once the contest heads across the ditch. We'll be back on Sunday to bring you all the action from that third game in Perth! Cannot wait, catch you then.

This is the second game straight that the New Zealander midcourter has been named as Player of the Match. Finished with 24 feeds, 23 goal assists, one pickup, nine centre-pass receives and four second-phase receives.

Not huge numbers at all, but her calm and steady presence in the midcourt means that Gordon doesn't need anything flashy to steal the show because her work rate is enough to make her stand out. She stood up and matched Price's physicality tonight.

Let's breakdown the numbers. Four more gains, including three more intercepts. That's the most glaring difference I can see here. New Zealand were able to win more ball and cleanly, getting two hands to it. Which makes it easier to capitalise and punish your opposition.

Australia's centre pass rate was down to 69 per cent. Nowhere good enough for the world's number one team. As you cast your eyes down the list, there's also the biggest lead. We can see once NZ had a lead of 12 goals, they didn't let it slip much at all. They were able to keep the foot on the pedal. In comparison, Australia only had the lead for 20 seconds of the game and by just one goal. That's a lot of chasing to do over the course of 60 minutes.

The series is only halfway done, but you can tell how much these back-to-back victories have meant to the Silver Ferns. Again, we repeat, they have just slipped from two to third in the world rankings. They've taken a big hit to their top-two status in the world. They've lost to England 2-1 heading into this series and now they've taken it to the Diamonds.

Ameliaranne Ekenasio was in tears when asked by Sky Sport what the result meant:

"I'm just so proud of the team of what we've been able to put on court, it's been such a tough time. I honestly believe we've got fighters in our team. We have people that will go out and do the dirty work and they don't care what it takes. That's really been infectious for all of us. I think that's made a big change. We have a big recovery now before we head to Perth. The energy we have is so great, we need to continue that."

With seconds left in the game, Garbin had time for one more shot at goal. But her attempt bounces off the top and into the hands of New Zealand. It sums up the night, as the Silver Ferns make it eight straight victories at home and take a 2-0 lead in the Constellation Cup.

Gary Burgess is getting fed up with the scrap happening off the ball and calls WD Karin Burger for an intentional offside. It's the second time a Silver Ferns midcourter has been offside in a matter of minutes as they've tried to challenge for ball on circle edge. So Burgess advances the penalty to under the post.

With eight minutes left, Noeline Taurua has sent Parris Mason on into GD to combine with Jackson. The two play together in the New Zealand Premiership and have a strong combo. Mason made her debut in the Taini Jamison series but missed Game 1 of the Constellation Cup due to injury.

With five minutes left, Stacey Marinkovich has made her own changes. Bruce shifts forward into GD, Klau comes back on in GK and Weston heads off the court. Will it spark some impact in defence?

Now in the final two and a half minutes, Maia Wilson gets her first run in the Constellation Cup out at goal attack as Silver Ferns captain Ekenasio gets a breather.

Umpire Gary Burgess called obstruction against Kelly Jackson as she was leaning over Sophie Garbin's shot. But as Garbin went to collect the ball to take the penalty, she fumbled it over the baseline and Burgess called it a New Zealand throw-in. Garbin's mouth flung open shocked, realising she'd made an error as the penalty was set, so it was play on.

But as the Silver Ferns tried to clear the ball out of the goal third in transition, Jamie-Lee Price and Kate Heffernan leaped up to contest the ball, collided and hit the deck. The penalty call went Australia's way so the Diamonds finished what they started and Garbin finished what she started.

SCORE: 53-44 New Zealand's way

We've got three England umpires on this one. Gary Burgess, Louise Travis and Kate Mann.

Nweke missed her first shot at goal to start the final quarter. Then Bruce challenged her for the rebound, Nweke got the last touch as it sailed over the baseline and with the throw-in, Australia managed to go full court in transition and score first. Positioning is everything in a one-on-one battle with Nweke and Bruce managed to do that in that moment. The Diamonds convert their next centre pass to go two in a row.

SCORE: 48-41 New Zealand's way

Australia actually won that quarter, 16-15. Can the Diamonds turn enough momentum in the final 15 minues to level the series? They need the defenders to get involved and win some ball back. It's going to take a big effort for sure.

Sophie Dwyer is absolutely killing it. She doesn't seem to have the same hesitancy or concern that the other Australians started the game with.

Dwyer is letting the ball go and making smart decisions with her shooter to shooter passing. A gamechanger, as Australia score six of the last 10 goals.

SCORE: 47-39 New Zealand's way

As the Silver Ferns try to work the ball into their goal third they're forced back into the midcourt and Dwyer gets her fingertips to a pass from O'Brien, deflecting the ball into Australia's possession. Hadley chases it down and Australia edge one back. The Diamonds convert their centre passes either side of this moment to make it three in a row.

SCORE: 44-36 New Zealand's way

As we know, Kelly Jackson's long arms have blocked a lot of Australian shots already in this series. She seems to have unlocked a fear in Keira Austin we didn't know existed about putting up the shot. As soon as she leans over, Austin seems to be put off. But what we're seeing now, is such a high release from Sophie Dwyer that Jackson's long reach isn't having the same impact. Plus, Dwyer's little pop back to give herself some room. If Australia can get its hand to ball, this shooting combo could be enough to turn the game around. That passing between the shooters is a lot smoother now too.

A funny moment to break the tension here, as the net gets twisted. English umpire Gary Burgess holds play but chuckles and says, "Sorry, I'm definitely not tall enough to fix it."

Instead, tall timber Grace Nweke who at 1.93m tall, is able to jump up and untangle the net easily in one swift movement.

This Sophie squared combo is helping up front it seems. Garbin lures both of the Silver Fern defenders out of the circle to open it up for Dwyer to drive in and collect the ball. The young goal attack is currently sitting at 100 per cent accuracy with 3/3.

SCORE: 35-25 New Zealand's way

The kiwis are clearly influencing the game from a defensive point of view. You can see that in the gains stat as well as the extra turnovers to Australia's name due to the pressure they're under from the hosts. Five more contacts against the Diamonds too. They need to stay in play and adjust to the umpire's whistle if they have a hope of winning back the ball.

Wow, that gain to goal rate sitting at just 33 per cent is a major red flag for the Diamonds. Meanwhile, New Zealand are at 100 per cent in that department. If they win ball, they absolutely need to reward their defenders with a goal. You can see the contest was tight as it was heading into the break with an equal split over the past 10 goals scored. Maybe the changes Marinkovich made are working?

There is some serious thinking for the Diamonds to do in this half-time break, because this game is slipping away very quickly! They'll need to come out of the blocks firing in the third quarter. But how do they create that shift in momentum? There's no obvious answer other than trying to find a way to shut down Nweke at this point.

Okay, so Klau is not proving to be effective against Nweke and clearly cautious of the score blowing out any further, Marinkovich has sent her tried and tested goal keeper on to try and stem the ball flying into the New Zealand circle. Can Bruce save the day in her second game back from injury?

Austin has also been replaced by Sophie Dwyer at goal attack, just to try something different in goals. This change also happened in the third quarter of Game 1.

Meanwhile, the Silver Ferns have brought some fresh legs on in the midcourt. Claire O'Brien has entered the game. Then they've shifted O'Brien, Maddy Gordon and Kimmy Poi around eight times to try and get that WA / C combo right.

There was a crazy moment midway through the quarter where Nweke missed her first attempt. It was a key opportunity for Australia to peg one back on the scoreboard, but as the ball travelled up the other end of the court and into the hands of Garbin, Jackson continued to apply pressure on the ball and Garbin folded, missing her attempt at goal. This allowed the Silver Ferns to finish what they started, with a trip back up court and through the net by Ameliaranne Ekenasio. Such great fight from the kiwis, showing how hungry they are to make this series 2-0.

SCORE: 28-17 New Zealand's way