England Stuns World Champions Australia in Thrilling Netball Test

The first game of England's three-match Test series in Australia ended in a 70-57 defeat by the world champions in Adelaide. The Roses, who were denied a first World Cup by Australia in last year's final, remained competitive throughout despite fielding an inexperienced side that included debutant Lois Pearson, but never led at the end of any quarter. Australia remained in control throughout the game, only being outscored in the third quarter, 18-15.

The Australians made an early move in the first quarter, seizing momentum with five consecutive goals to create a 12-7 advantage. Coach Stacey Marinkovich fielded a largely established starting seven and attackers Garbin and Kiera Austin cashed in. Goal shooter Garbin produced a blemish-free first term, converting all her 12 shots, and compatriot Austin missed just once. Austin put an exclamation point on the Diamonds’ dominant opening with a long-range effort giving Australia a 17-12 lead at the first break.

The Australians, with captain Liz Watson and Paige Hadley controlling the midcourt, skipped seven goals clear early in the second stanza. And defenders Sarah Klau and Sunday Aryang kept the pressure on England’s Roses with a couple of interceptions helping Australia advance to an 11-goal halftime advantage, 37-26. Garbin went to the long break with 24 goals from as many shots with Austin recording 13 from 14.

Marinkovich made a popular first alteration to her team midway through the third period with Tilly Garrett taking over from Aryang at goal defence. The inclusion of Garrett, an Adelaide Thunderbirds star, was wildly cheered by her 9,102-strong home crowd. England reduced the deficit to eight goals in a third quarter notable for Garbin’s only miss of the match ending her streak of 37 consecutive goals. The Diamonds led 52-44 at the end of the third period before England narrowed the margin to five goals some five minutes into in the last quarter. It was the closest the tourists could get before Australia finished with a flourish.

Australia now boast 79 wins from 88 games against England and will seek to extend that imposing record in the second Test in Sydney on Sunday, before the series concludes in Bendigo on Wednesday.

England Springs an Upset in Sydney

England has sprung an upset to defeat world champions Australia 61-59 in a thrilling second Test in Sydney. The Diamonds led 45-43 at three-quarter time, but England — missing injured star shooter Eleanor Cardwell — overpowered the home side in the final term to keep its hopes of a series win alive. It is only England's third victory over the Diamonds in 31 Tests on Australian soil.

The third and final Test will be played in Bendigo on Wednesday night. The Diamonds failed to shrug off the Roses after leading at three-quarter time. Liv Tchine (32 goals from 34 attempts) and Helen Housby (29 from 33) were outstanding for the Roses, who outscored the Diamonds 18-14 in the fourth quarter. Sophie Garbin (24 from 25), Kiera Austin (19 from 22) and Cara Koenen (16 form 19) shared the Diamonds' goals. The Diamonds won the first Test 70-57 in Adelaide last Thursday night.

Georgie Horjus's Absence Continues to Spark Debate

When 22-year-old Georgie Horjus earned her first call-up to the Diamonds this year, social media went into meltdown. The pocket rocket is a fan favourite for her crafty play in attack and her down-to-earth personality. Horjus has been the key to the Adelaide Thunderbirds back-to-back Super Netball premierships too, playing both wing attack and goal attack with class.

The majority of fans were therefore hoping to see her debut in her home city on Thursday, but it was not to be. Then today, there was chatter online again when Horjus was overlooked for a second straight game. Now that England have fought back, and the series sits at 1-all, it feels even more unlikely that we'll see Horjus get a run against the Roses at all. Australia will be taking this last game in Bendigo very seriously and are likely to stay conservative with selection now, hoping their more experienced players can get the result.

England's Dominance in the Final Quarter

Okay so let's take a look at the final stats for game two and see what the numbers tell us. We can see here that England were far better defensively this time around and but other than that it was a very even game across time in possession, overall penalties (England 56 - 54 Australia), possession changes and general play turnovers. Meanwhile, the scoring stats us that England scored seven of the last 10 goals. They were coming home like a freight train! Kudos to the players for finding the much needed self-belief we alluded to early in the blog.

Funmi Fadoju's Stellar Performance

Who else could it be but this woman? Funmi was fantastic tonight, and we finally got to see her play a full 60 minutes on court for the Roses. She has struggled to get a consistent starting position with the team, despite her timing and leap always being tough to face. Hopefully she is rewarded with another start in game three. Absolutely brilliant this afternoon. Speaking with host broadcaster Fox Netball, Fadoju was asked what was different about the Roses tonight: "Just our intensity, both teams went out with all they had."

Roses Take the Series to a Decider

The Roses have kept the series alive, with both teams winning a game each 1-1. This is huge. It's just the third time the Roses have been able to beat the Diamonds on home soil. It was such an impressive performance from the Roses right across the court, not many expected they would be up to the challenge of facing Australia again after the disappointing performance they put out just three days ago — losing by 13 goals. But they've done a 360 and have shocked the world's best team to send us to a decider on Wednesday night in Bendigo.

An Intense Final Quarter

With 60 seconds left in the game, England are finishing strong. SCORE: England lead 61-58. With three and a half minutes left in the game, Marinkovich has put on Sydney-local and Australian vice-captain Paige Hadley in centre. It's her first minutes for the game as Moloney is subbed off. The Diamonds coach is looking for composure from her experienced midcourter in these dying moments.

England's Tactical Shifts

Another intercept from Funmi as she hangs back and cuts off the feed into Garbin. She's got the Aussie shooter squeezed on the baseline as she leaps up and takes the ball. Tchine converts and we remain level with four and a half minutes left on the clock. SCORE: tied 56-all. Swifts fans know this look on the English shooter's face all too well. The Roses centurion is leading from the front. Before she was dishing off to Tchine but now Housby wants a piece of the aciton and she's starting to put up more shots and offer some dynamic play entering the circle.

A Tightly Contested Third Quarter

Six minutes in and Australia spills the ball over the baseline. Austin puts a little too much height on the shooter-to-shooter pass to Garbin and it sails over her hands. England use the mistake to level the score back up. Straight away Marinkovich responds with a tactical sub, switching Klau and Ellis again. Opting for more experience at the back. SCORE: tied 50-all. The umpire rules Garbin has stepped along the baseline. England get the ball back but they accidentally pass it to a Diamonds player in the centre third and Australia finish what they started. We're going goal for goal here! The two-goal buffer remains.

Diamonds Fight Back in the Third Quarter

Oh wow! The Aussies won't give up. With 30 seconds left on the clock the Diamonds managed to get back on top of their opponents by two goals and ensure the third quarter, just like the first, was drawn 16-all. Don't go anywhere! There's just 15 minutes left in the game and who is going to take the honours is really anyone's guess. I will say, Sophie Garbin has done well coming on in. In just a quarter she's managed to score roughly the same amount of goals Koenen and Austin put on in a half of netball. She's scored 15 goals from 16 attempts at 94 per cent.

A Thrilling Second Test

What a game!!! Tough battle for both teams but so glad England brought it today. Bring on game 3! Agreed, Madz! Nice to see an even contest, it is always way more entertaining. Exciting seeing some of the younger Roses players drive that result tonight. Including Lois Pearson who was excellent in wing attack. In just her second-ever game of international netball she plugged the gap England have been missing in WA for sure. Also her stats: 39 feeds, 26 goal assists and 31 centre-pass receives are truly Lizzy Watson areas! What a phenomenal outing for Pearson. That should give England fans confidence about the future of this Roses team. Even forced a change for the Diamonds, playing on two different wing defences throughout the match.

A Nail-Biting Finish

A Series of Tactical Substitutions

A Closely Fought Contest

A Thrilling Third Quarter

The Roses' Resurgence

England are winning this period 15-12. Can anyone explain why they love the third quarter so much? SCORE: England lead 42-41. A little less than four minutes left until the final break and Rudi Ellis has been let loose! She's just replaced Klau at goal keeper as the Aussies hope to spark a bit of energy in defence. At the same time, Amy Carter has come on for the Roses at wing defence sending Beth Cobden to the bench.

A Moment of Magic from Funmi Fadoju

Funmi gets her second bit of clean ball in this game. The English goal defence has been really clever, stretching the Diamonds shooters wide and then using her aerial skills to get up high and pinch possession. Slowly but surely England are turning the cogs and working themselves back into this game. SCORE: tied 38-all. It was accidental of course, but the umpire has rewarded England a penalty in the pocket after Imogen Allison put her hand straight to her nose.

The Diamonds' Vixens Connection

Now that there's almost an all-Vixens combo at the front of the court, the Diamonds are playing with some excellent timing. Five minutes into the third quarter and we can see each player knows their roe and when they need to drive forward next to get the ball. Only Watson is from a different team, but after a decade spent with the Vixens before she moved to the Lightning this year, that combo from her former club must feel like riding a bike. SCOFE: Australia lead 36-33.

A Series of Substitutions

Australia has made some changes for the third quarter, bringing goal shooter Sophie Garbin into the game at GS. She was excellent in the first game, so it makes sense to revert back to that combo with Austin. Matilda Garrett has also come on in goal defence. This was a similar pattern from Stacey Marinkovich that we saw in game one, using Garrett as a super sub alongside Klau at the back. This pushes Sunday Aryang out to wing defence and sends Amy Parmenter to the bench.

A Thrilling Contest

The Diamonds meet England in the opener of a three-Test series in Adelaide on Thursday night with the visitors boasting a familar Australian face in their ranks. Former Australian captain Sharni Norder has been lured into the England camp as a defensive coach for the series. Australia captain Liz Watson says it's the new reality of an ever-shrinking netball world to have a predecessor plotting the downfall of the Diamonds. "Having internationals in our (domestic) competition, you're always going to have that crossover now," Watson said on Wednesday. "Obviously Sharni has been in the Diamonds, she has been in the environment at local clubs too, so she knows us inside-out ... it's just the reality of what it is now." Norder, a dual World Cup winner and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, spent the domestic Super Netball league working with the Melbourne Vixens. Also on England's staff is Giants co-captain Jo Harten, the Englishwoman who has played in Australia since 2017. Harten is helping the Roses' attackers and shooters. Watson said the coaching crossover adds further spice to the Diamonds' increasing rivalry with England. At last year's World Cup, England upset the Aussies by one goal in the second group phase before the Diamonds turned the tables with a 61-45 win in the final to claim a 12th title. "Our rivalry with England has definitely grown over the last two or three years," Watson said. "Obviously that World Cup loss in the rounds and then the final has probably sparked it even more, it (the rivalry) is just getting stronger and stronger. We know a few of the girls who do play in our local teams, so lots of girls are friends with them as well and teammates. But once we play for our country, there's nothing like it - you are just there to represent your country. The pride to play for Australia ... you go out there with passion." The world No.1 Diamonds could give a Test debut for South Australian 22-year-old Georgie Horjus in her home city. The Adelaide Thunderbirds star, Rudi Ellis and Ash Ervin are three newcomers in the 15-strong Diamonds squad for the series which continues in Sydney on Sunday and Bendigo next Wednesday.