Australian Diamonds win Netball Nations Cup after dominant performance over England Roses

Australia has cemented its position as the premier netball team in the world after a dominant display to win the Netball Nations Cup – but coach Stacey Marinkovich still believes there’s room for improvement.

Diamonds captain Liz Watson led from the front once again. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images

Australia has underlined its position as the top netball nation in the world, thrashing England by 20 goals to win the Netball Nations Cup in an utterly dominant performance.

The Diamonds progressed through the preliminary rounds of the four-nation competition in England unbeaten but after defeating the Roses by just two goals last weekend, were expected to be challenged by the home side in the final.

But the Diamonds took their game to another level in the decider at Leeds’ First Direct Arena, utterly dominating England to win 69-49 and hand the Roses their biggest defeat against Australia since 2016.

Just as she did when injected into the World Cup final against England last year, Sophie Garbin controlled the circle, making 31 of her 32 attempts to win player of the match honours.

With five shooters at her disposal, coach Stacey Marinkovich had a wealth of options in the goal circle and opted to start the combination of Garbin and Sophie Dwyer, the pair playing the opening three quarters and helping the Diamonds establish an 18-goal lead by the final break.

The Diamonds have added more silverware to their cabinet. Picture: Naomi Baker/Getty Images for England Netball

Cara Koenen and Kiera Austin were injected for the final term, while Donnell Wallam was left out of the final 12, showing the enormous depth at the shooting end and the relentless pressure facing the England defenders, who finished the game with just four gains as a unit – a figure matched individually by Diamonds ‘keeper Courtney Bruce.

Asked how the Diamonds raised their level so much in a week after beating the Roses by two goals, Garbin revealed the team’s mantra was “not trying to prove but improve each performance”.

“We had a great game against Uganda (on Sunday morning) and we came out really strong and we wanted to do that again,” she said.

“I think everyone just comes on and plays their role. And I think for us, you know, we’ve got 12 (in the match-day squad) plus our 13th player and everyone can come on and do a really good job for us.”

Captain Liz Watson was also outstanding for the Diamonds, finishing with 40 feeds, 28 goal assists and just one turnover in an effort that pushed Garbin for MVP honours.

Watson, who with Bruce was the only Diamond to play the entire 60 minutes, nabbed player of the match honours in the tournament-opener against New Zealand but a pair of somewhat lacklustre efforts against England and Uganda in the later preliminaries had some questioning whether she was still at the top of her game.

It was a dominant display by the Diamonds. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images

There was no question of that in the final though, with Marinkovich saying her captain and playing group drove the standards that pushed the Diamonds to the level that was on display on Monday morning.

“I knew that we were really focused on the hard work, I think they pride themselves in it,” Marinkovich said when asked how the Diamonds went from two-goal winners over the Roses last weekend to such a dominant display in the final.

“It’s hard to win international netball. That’s been our theme for this game and I thought they came out of the blocks hard and we built momentum but everyone kept supporting each other.

“And then to be able to inject the changes and keep winning the fourth quarter was really pleasing.”

Every player in the match-day squad hit the court and was able to maintain the relentless pressure on England, with the lead pushing out to 23 goals at one stage in the final term before England managed to claw it back to 20 with a Helen Housby goal on the buzzer.

“That (standard) is led by Lizzy (Watson) and the girls,” Marinkovich said of the high standards.

“They have a real squad mentality and we’ve got players back home that when they come in, they train exceptionally hard so everything builds and pushes the team that actually stepped out on the court and it’s something that they’ve really grasped hold of and they own.”

Nat Metcalf and Jamie-Lee Price battle for the ball. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images

And in a scary thought for their rivals, Marinkovich believes the Diamonds can get better.

“There’s definitely room for improvement,” she said.

“But I think right here, right now, I just want to embrace what they’ve been able to achieve.

“It’s a great way to start the season and we’ll go back and see where we need to go.”

The Roses were cruelled by individual errors forced by the Diamonds’ unrelenting pressure, with coach Jess Thirlby conceding her side was “not quite there in terms of game smarts against a very smart team”.

“Our responses today weren’t at the level they need to be against a team like that,” she said.

Uganda again impressed in the playoff for third place, holding New Zealand level at halftime before the Silver Ferns broke away for a 62-57 victory.

Netball Nations Cup Final

DIAMONDS 69 (Garbin 31, Dwyer 22, Koenen 10, Austin 6) d. ENGLAND ROSES 49 (Housby 27, Cardwell 17, Glasgow 5)

Originally published as Australian Diamonds win Netball Nations Cup after dominant performance over England Roses