History on their side: Why Diamonds can turn tables on England in netball World Cup decider
Before Diamonds star shooter Kiera Austin got on the plane to South Africa for the World Cup she declared, “We’re not going to come back without that trophy”.
Now, there’s only one team left that can prevent the Diamonds achieving that goal, but it is the rival that beat them just two days ago and has yet to lose a match at this tournament: the English Roses.
England’s Helen Housby and Australian skipper Liz Watson will be adversaries in the netball World Cup final.Credit: Getty/Gallo
Costly mistakes: What went wrong in their group game?
England already made history at this tournament by claiming their first World Cup win over Australia 56-55 in the preliminary stages.
It meant the Roses booked an easier route to the final, meeting and beating New Zealand in the semi-finals 46-40, while Australia had to face Jamaica, who gave the Diamonds a scare before Australia won 57-54.
What went wrong for Australia last time? And how did England pull off the one-goal win over the world No.1?
England had an eight-goal deficit in the third quarter but came charging back. Their revival was spearheaded by shooters Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell, and put them within one goal heading into the final quarter.
Then, it came down to defensive pressure and shooting accuracy (England) and costly turnovers (Australia). The Roses had 30 goals in the second half to the Diamonds’ 23. England also benefitted from a match-winning deflection when defender Fran Williams kept Australia from scoring, tying up the score with just seconds left on the clock.
After the loss, Diamonds captain and wing attack Liz Watson said silly mistakes had cost her team the win.
She vowed they’d learn from those errors and use the result as motivation for the rest of the tournament.
“We want to go (all the way). To be the best you’ve got to beat the best,” Watson told Fox Sports.
“It’s just staying positive. You never want to lose. People say they’re ‘good losses’, but of course, we want to win and put out a good performance.”
Depth and confidence: Why England are a threat?
While Australia has versatility, England has depth.
Heading into the tournament, Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich often spoke about her squad’s ability to adapt to changes that would happen within games, and the players’ ability to play different roles when the game demanded.
Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich.Credit: Getty Images
She told this masthead after announcing her World Cup squad that one of Australia’s biggest strengths was the “versatility with the combinations out there”.
“So being able to hunt the ball, to be able to have the athleticism to give protection to one another, to give confidence, to be able to hunt the ball as well as have their players under control [are our strengths],” said Marinkovich.
She said these qualities were important across the lines, and also in individual players. For example, Marinkovich said wing defender Ash Brazill has, “the flexibility of being able to be a ball-getter, but she can also play a really tight tagging role, which I think brings out the strength of the defenders around her.”
Marinkovich also highlighted defender Jo Weston’s versatility.
“She [Weston] has a great ability to work in partnership with her goalkeepers. She has the versatility to swing across to the wing defence, and she certainly runs that ball hard out in attack. So, she’s really holistic in how she plays the game,” the coach said.
But England have players waiting in the wings (well, sidelines) to put that adaptability to the test, and their substitutions have proven particularly savvy this tournament.
When these teams met on Thursday, England coach Jess Thirlby decided to start Nat Metcalf ahead of Chelsea Pitman at wing attack. The move raised some eyebrows at the time, but proved pivotal to England’s historic win. Pitman entered the game late and had an immediate impact with goal assists and feeds, which agitated the Diamonds’ set up.
Williams was also a late sub, and her defensive skills arguably won the game.
The win in the group stage for England also topped up their “confidence bank”, according to Thirlby. “We’re just kind of in our bubble. From a netball perspective, we know how good we are, and from a technical point of view, we’re on a par with the top teams,” she told Fox Sports.
Who are the key players?
Australia: Defender Courtney Bruce has been crucial for the Diamonds this tournament. She was player of the match in Australia’s semi-final win over Jamaica and had two crucial intercepts in the third quarter to assist the Diamonds open up a six-goal lead. She also had four pivotal gains that game.
England’s Chelsea Pitman and Australia’s Ash Brazill at the earlier match in Cape Town.Credit: Getty Images
Also in defence, Weston has been a hugely important player. She won the ball back twice for the Diamonds with less than two minutes remaining the last time they met England, while Sarah Klau has also held up many opposition attacking moves.
At the other end of the court, Diamonds’ vice captain and goal attack Steph Wood has been rock-solid for Australia this tournament, working well in tandem with goal shooter Cara Koenen.
Australia’s Cara Koenen tries to get around England’s Geva Mentor in the preliminary match between the two nations.Credit: Getty
Brazill has dominated in the midcourt and Watson has been a picture of leadership and determination – make sure to look for her steely game finish leading into the first centre pass.
England: Housby and Cardwell make a lethal pair at the post. Both play in Australia’s domestic competition, Super Netball, and were recently at opposing ends of the grand final between the NSW Swifts and Adelaide Thunderbirds. In their win over Australia, Cardwell finished with 34 goals from 35 shots (97 per cent) and Housby had 22 goals without a miss.
Defenders Geva Mentor (another Super Netball player, who previously was co-captain of Collingwood), Layla Guscoth (Adelaide Thunderbirds) and Laura Malcolm (Mainland Tactix in the ANZ Premiership) have been excellent at extinguishing opposition attack and applying relentless pressure.
In the midcourt, rising star Imogen Allison has been dynamic and creative at wing defence, while Chelsea Pitman has been influential in several key passages of play.
What’s the history between these teams?
Australia have long held bragging rights over England, but that could end come Monday morning (AEST).
Australia have won 13 of their 14 meetings at a World Cup.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Australia outclassed England 60-51 to progress to the final, which they won.
England’s win earlier in the tournament was the first time they’ve managed to claim a win over the Diamonds since January 2019.
When is the final on?
In bad news for netball fans who enjoy uninterrupted sleep: the final starts at 2am Monday (AEST). You can watch all the action free on Kayo Freebies, Fox Sports or SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand.
Courtney Bruce gets aerial for Australia in the semi-final against Jamaica.Credit: Getty
We could be in for a new netball world order.
It will be the first final in seven since 1995 not to be contested by Australia and New Zealand.
Prediction: Experience v the underdogs
It’s a tough one.
Australia have been here before. They have won 11 previous titles and boast every other piece of silverware on offer in the past four-year cycle – the Constellation Cup, Commonwealth Games gold medal, the Quad Series and the England Test series.
They’ll be coming into the match looking for revenge against England and have run a campaign of “unfinished business” at this tournament after New Zealand won the trophy in 2019.
But England have that underdog hunger and come into the game unbeaten at this tournament with eyes firmly on their maiden title.
It will be a close one, but my odds are on Australia just clinching the win – let’s say by one or two-goals.
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