Australian Diamonds selection battle: Who has stood up for coach Stacey Marinkovich?

Coach Stacey Marinkovich faces a swathe of selection headaches on the long road to next year’s World Cup — check out who’s standing up for Australia so far.

Lost amid netball’s infamous sponsorship saga is an even greater internal battle at the Diamonds.

It’s one that involves a fight for survival but has nothing to do with the sport’s finances and everything to do with future selection.

The New Zealand series victory and Donnell Wallam’s scintillating Diamonds debut in the series-opener against England in Newcastle on Wednesday night are all part of coach Stacey Marinkovich’s long selection road to next year’s World Cup.

All up, 18 players in two squads have either had their chance or will get a go in the remaining two games against the Roses to convince Marinkovich they deserve to be taken to South Africa next July.

But who has stood out for Australia so far?

Sophie Garbin has stepped up for the Diamonds. Picture: Getty Images

THE NEW GRETEL

With Gretel Bueta pregnant with her second child and likely to miss the World Cup, Marinkovich has shuffled her attack.

Certainly Sophie Garbin, who has started three matches in a row in a gold dress, has stepped up and led the Diamonds to their two big wins over the Silver Ferns to clinch the Constellation Cup.

Wallam’s perfect shooting cameo and match-winning heroics over England did her status no harm, while Commonwealth Games hero Cara Koenen has had time at goal attack and shooter.

With incumbent Steph Wood rested from the Roses series, expect Sophie Dwyer and Kiera Austin to get time to impress in the next two Tests.

Donnell Wallam starred on debut for the Diamonds. Picture: Getty Images

MIDCOURT MINEFIELD

Six Diamonds will play across the three midcourt spots throughout the Constellation Cup and Roses series, while Commonwealth Games squad member Ash Brazill remains a part of the equation despite opting out of the current internationals to spend time with her family and re-enter the AFLW frame with Collingwood.

And that’s without considering the wealth of talent pushing at Super Netball level.

Marinkovich will have just four of them at her disposal at the World Cup next year.

Jamie-Lee Price and Amy Parmenter turned the momentum of the Constellation Cup decider as Australia secured victory, while Maddie Proud was player of the match in the England win in Newcastle.

Jamie-Lee Price in action during the Constellation Cup. Picture: Getty Images

All three were left out of the Birmingham gold medal squad but are banging on the door of established stars like Liz Watson and Kate Moloney — who produced the clutch intercept for Wallam’s match-winning goal when shifted to wing defence in another string to her bow.

Marinkovich said the sisters-in-arms had embraced the squad mentality.

“I’ve always got a headache,” Marinkovich said of her selection dilemmas.

“I’ve got a headache just putting a team on the court at the moment but that’s a credit to the girls.

“The environment is competitive, but competitive in the view of making this team better.

“It’s a really unique situation to be able to have a true squad mentality that everyone contributes in different ways and you get called upon at different moment.

“That’s something that I’m really proud of the girls (for), that they’re running that part of it.

“You can put things in place but it’s their intent, their decision, their choice as to what they do with it.”

SHE DEMANDED IT: DIAMONDS IN AWE AT WALLAM’S DEBUT

Paige Hadley hopes the belief and confidence every member of the Diamonds squad has in one another helped spur Donnell Wallam’s matchwinning debut.

Injected in the final quarter of the opening Test against England with the match on the line, Wallam played like a seasoned pro, sinking all eight of her attempts at goal including a tie-breaking matchwinner.

It would have been a debut for the ages for any player.

But after the week Wallam had endured — becoming the unwitting face of the Hancock Prospecting decision to withdraw their proposed $15 million partnership with Netball Australia — her tie-breaking lay-up was, in Hadley’s words, “epic”.

“That last 15 seconds, you weren’t sure what was going to happen,” Hadley said.

Donnell Wallam shoots the winning goal. Picture: Getty Images

Donnell Wallam celebrates scoring the winning goal. Picture: Getty Images

“For her in that moment to back her(self), she saw an open post so she went for it.

“You saw the emotion of her after that goal and I think it’s just the belief and the confidence that everyone in this group has for one another.

“No matter what’s going on, we’ve got each other’s back.”

Hadley said she had never seen anything like Wallam’s 10-minute cameo in the circumstances.

“For a young kid to come on and debut and take that shot, nothing like it, I’ve never seen it,” Hadley said.

“From the moment she came on and she really demanded that circle.

“I think the first ball, she said, ‘put it up’, so I’m really proud of her development over this time in the squad.”

Coach Stacey Marinkovich is a methodical planner who runs through every conceivable scenario in her head before making on-court changes she hopes will impact a match.

But not one of those scenarios involved Wallam sinking the matchwinner in the manner she did.

“I’m pretty methodical as a coach, so I probably go through 1000 ‘what ifs’ in different situations, but it certainly wasn’t a planned move,” Marinkovich said.

“Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t but you know, I’ll take that one any day of the week.”

Hadley played a huge role in her first game as Diamonds captain.

Marinkovich believes matches are about winning moments.

And she will back any player in her group to have the ability to produce a moment like Wallam did on Wednesday night.

“The thing is, anyone … within this group that has been selected, it’s about having the confidence that I would put them on court,” she said.

“People need to know they need to play their role. They’ve seen me do it many times and they know I’ll back them in.”

Originally published as Australian Diamonds selection battle: Who has stood up for coach Stacey Marinkovich?