Diamonds Stunned by Roses in Netball Test: Decider Looms in Bendigo
There's plenty to take out of the Diamonds' surprise two-goal loss to the England Roses on Sunday afternoon, according to coach Stacey Marinkovich. The visitors claimed just their third win on Australian soil, coming from behind to claim a see-sawing tussle at Qudos Bank Arena. The result sets up a mouth-watering series decider in Bendigo this Wednesday.
Marinkovich said the much-improved English performance was to be expected, especially off the back of Thursday’s sizeable defeat in Adelaide. “International netball is tough, and we expected them to come out with a great deal of intensity,” Marinkovich said. “We got stuck on the body a bit, which stopped our connection and flow, so we’ll take some lessons and learnings.”
Defensively England shone, claiming 10 gains and 22 deflections, disrupting the exquisite ball movement the Diamonds had put on display a few days earlier. Marinkovich said her players failed to read the momentum of the game on occasions, trying to maintain a high-octane style of play, when more risk-adverse decision making was required. “Sometimes we can’t play as direct as we have been in the previous two plays, and we’ve got to lift our work rate,” Marinkovich explained. “It’s okay to go slow and to play back. It’s not our natural style, but we’re very capable of doing it. We’ve just got to find the balance of when to force things and when to actually use all our players in attack to keep possession at the same time.”
England’s defensive performance was led by dynamo Funmi Fadoju. The undersized circle defender was named MVP after a scintillating performance which included eight gains, eight deflections and two intercepts. Marinkovich said the Diamonds would look at how they can limit Fadoju’s influence before they meet again in Bendigo. “She’s got some great athletic capabilities, she’s a bit unassuming around the body,” Marinkovich said. “We need to look at what she did in her movement to adjust (from game one) but also we just need to sight and see and take the extra pass to get a different angle which takes her out of position.”
Marinkovich also highlighted a change in the way England moved the ball in offense, particularly during the final quarter when the Roses had 11 more feeds than the Diamonds which resulted in a match-winning four-goal swing. “They were getting some good ball speed through the centre pass, and I don’t think we had as much impact as we did in the first game,” Marinkovich stated. “They pretty much played a three-second release game in the first game, and whether it’s how they played or the pressure we were applying, I think (today) they were a bit more free in the way they were letting the ball go and backing their own connections.”
Diamonds’ Response to a Loss
MIDCOURTER Kate Moloney has promised a strong response from the Australian Diamonds in Bendigo on Wednesday night, to make up for their upset loss against the England Roses on Sunday night. The Diamonds will be aiming to preserve a proud record against the Roses on home soil when they clash in a sellout third and final Test match at Red Energy Arena.
After a convincing 70-57 victory by the Diamonds in Adelaide last week, England leveled the series with a thrilling against-the-odds 61-59 win in Sydney on Sunday. The Diamonds had led 45-43 at three-quarter time. A gutsy win for the Roses was achieved without their injured star shooter Eleanor Caldwell. A Diamonds mainstay since her elevation to the squad in 2017, Moloney insisted the loss had not sat well with the playing group leaving them eager for redemption in Bendigo.
“We were disappointed with the game on the weekend, but we’ve taken lots of lessons from it and we are ready to go,” she said. “We had a great training session today (Tuesday) and I have no doubt that the girls will come out firing. They (the Roses) would have learned a lot from game one. They changed a few things up. We probably didn’t adapt well enough during the game. But we’ve had a really good look at it. We want to bring a lot of intent to this game. We really want to go out on the front foot and take it up to England.”
The Diamonds have never lost a series to the Roses on Australian soil. In fact, Sunday’s win was only the third time the Roses have beaten the Diamonds in Australia in 31 Tests. There is a definite resolve among the squad to not be the first to surrender a Test series to the Roses at home. “We are excited to be in Bendigo, bringing netball here. It’s amazing to be playing England,” she said. “We want to hold that trophy up tomorrow. We want to get that third game. The girls have worked hard for it. They are a quality side. They have quality players, quite a few who are playing in SSN at the moment and obviously girls who have played over in their NSL. They’ve got some new girls as well, some girls we have not seen a lot of. We saw them over the weekend and they did really well. We took a lot of lessons from it and we’ll look to change a few things up.”
Diamonds' Line-up for the Decider
Australia have opted for experience heading into Wednesday’s deciding Test against England with Jamie-Lee Price recalled to take on the Roses. Price, the only change to Australia’s squad for game two, was sorely missed as England overran the Diamonds to claim a thrilling two-goal victory and keep the series alive heading into Bendigo. But coach Stacey Marinkovich has once again overlooked squad members Georgie Horjus and Ash Ervin for potential debuts at a time England has turned to their youngsters with great success.
STARTING SEVEN
Australia: GS Garbin, GA Austin, WA Watson, C Hadley, WD Price, GD Aryang, GK Klau
England: GS Tchine, GA Housby, WA Pearson, C Allison, WD Cobden, GD Fadoju, GK Williams
That win goes down in history as just the side’s second-ever in Sydney and only the Roses’ third-ever in Australia. Now Australia has it all to play for on Wednesday night, having never lost a series in Australia under Marinkovich. England will head into the final Test unchanged. The deciding third Test begins at 7pm AEST.
Looking Ahead
The series decider in Bendigo promises to be a thrilling encounter. The Diamonds will be looking to bounce back from their surprising loss, while the Roses will be looking to pull off another upset and claim a historic series victory. With both teams having shown their strengths and weaknesses, it is sure to be a closely contested match. The Diamonds have a rich history of success in Bendigo and will be hoping to leverage that home advantage to secure victory. However, the Roses have momentum on their side and will be looking to capitalize on their recent success. The clash in Bendigo is set to be a memorable one, with the stakes high for both teams. The Diamonds will be eager to secure a series victory on home soil, while the Roses will be looking to make history by claiming their first ever Test series win in Australia. The outcome will be decided on the court, but one thing is for sure – this is a match that you don't want to miss.
