Silver Ferns v Scotland: Maddy Gordon states case for starting wing attack bib in second test rout

Wednesday, 12 November 2025

Maddy Gordon (file pic) starred at wing attack in the Silver Ferns’ win over Scotland, playing the first half.

At Playsport Arena , Glasgow: Silver Ferns 80 (Grace Nweke: 34/37, Martina Salmon: 24/25, Amelia Walmsley: 13/16, Georgia Heffernan: 9/9) Scotland 48 (Emma Barrie: 20/24, Niamh McCall: 20/24, Beth Goodwin: 6/7, Cerys Cairns: 2/3) 1Q: 21-15, HT: 44-27, 3Q: 60-41.

She only played 30 minutes, but Maddy Gordon delivered a compelling case for the Silver Ferns’ starting wing attack bib with a feeding master-class against Scotland.

The Ferns warmed up for their three-match series against England, starting on Sunday in London, with a crushing 80-48 win in Glasgow on Wednesday (NZ time).

Grace Nweke and Gordon returned to the side after sitting out Monday’s first match and made an immediate impact. The star duo only played the first half, but their contributions were immense.

Gordon, who got the start at wing attack, fired off some pinpoint aerial bombs to Nweke. She dictated terms in the midcourt and again demonstrated what a threat she can be in the position.

“It’s awesome having GG [Nweke] at the back, but my game plan going into that game was just running the CPA [centre pass assists] really well and getting some good depth on that second phase, hitting circle edge,” Gordon said.

Grace Nweke (file pic) racked up 34 goals in her 30 minutes of court time against Scotland.

“[Nweke is] world-class back there. She’s so dominant and she makes my job very easy.”

The Ferns’ starting wing attack bib is wide open, but Gordon (who is also probably New Zealand’s best centre) is an intriguing option in the position. It will be fascinating to see whether interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie opts for Gordon as her starting wing attack against England or sticks with Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, who started all four Constellation Cup tests against Australia.

The Maddy Gordon and Grace Nweke attacking connection was firing early and often against Scotland (file pic)

New Zealand won Monday’s opening match 63-41, but with Nweke and Gordon back in the line-up posed a greater attacking threat.

In the first half alone, Gordon sent in 27 goal assists (31 feeds) with Nweke converting 34 from 37 in the opening 30 minutes.

Karin Burger (file pic) and the Silver Ferns had too much class for Scotland in Glasgow.

The Scotland defenders had no answer for Nweke, who bossed the shooting circle as she so often does.

The Silver Ferns, ranked No 2 in the world, had won all previous 14 contests against World No 10 Scotland, and were always in charge, as expected.

New Zealand would have been disappointed to have conceded 48 goals, Scotland’s most in a match against the Ferns, having allowed 41 in the first test. While they made a raft of positional changes, the Ferns struggled at times with their accuracy on attack. They made some careless turnovers, which England will punish later on this tour.

Reuelu-Buchanan and vice captain Kelly Jackson sat out the match for the Ferns as they look to split up the court time ahead of the England matches.

With all due respect to Scotland, how the Ferns perform in their three matches against England will define this tour. Win two, or even three of those games, and the Ferns will be in a healthy place heading into the 2026 Commonwealth Games ahead of Dame Noeline Taurua’s return as coach.

Ferns assistant Liana Leota was not on the bench in Glasgow for family reasons with Netball New Zealand issuing a release before the match saying their thoughts were with the Leota family.

Leading by 17 (44-27) at halftime, McCausland-Durie rang the changes getting Martina Salmon, Peta Toeava, Catherine Hall, and Kimiora Poi out on court to start the second half.

The Ferns pulled away in the final quarter, limiting Scotland to just seven goals and scored 20 themselves. Salmon was particularly impressive in the shooting end, finishing with 24 goals from 25 attempts in her 30 minutes on court.