Commonwealth Games 2022: Which defender misses out on ticket to Birmingham?
Diamonds selectors are staying mean and lean when it comes to defenders at the Commonwealth Games meaning just one is likely to get the dreaded tap on the shoulder. But who?
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They’ve pushed the envelope with the selection of seven shooters ahead of the Commonwealth Games cut but Diamonds selectors are staying mean and lean when it comes to defenders.
Just five defensive players were named in the preliminary Games squad, with coach Stacey Marinkovich and selectors sticking with those who got the job done for Australia in the Quad Series in January.
Having added West Coast Fever youngster Sunday Aryang to the mix for that series, selectors have decided against looking at youth like Ruby Bakewell-Doran or Tilly McDonell, while experienced players such as Melbourne Vixens goalkeeper Emily Mannix, who had two surgeries in the off-season, have also been overlooked.
TIGHT CALL
With 12 players to be nominated to Commonwealth Games Australia for the Birmingham Games, just one defender will miss out on the final squad, although is likely to be included as a reserve and could travel to England as insurance against a Covid case ahead of the competition.
It could come down to how the Diamonds want to play.
While they have just five defenders in the squad, the players nominated bring a wide array of defensive skills and abilities and allow Marinkovic to run several styles of defence.
While the midcourt group also includes noted wing defence specialists, the defenders are not only adept in the circle but bring the agility and speed to play into the midcourt.
Just one cut leaves little wriggle room for selectors but there’s not much uncertainty either.
LOCK THEM IN
Courtney Bruce
Current Liz Ellis Diamond holder Courtney Bruce has a lock on one of the spots given her performances for club and country over the past five years.
Of the current squad members, she leads in almost every statistical category this season, with more gains, intercepts, deflection sand rebounds than her Diamonds squad teammates.
Will fight for the starting goalkeeper position with Sarah Klau but has the ability to play at goal defence as well, where her ability to read the play and hunt for ball are key.
Sarah Klau
The Swifts defender is having an outstanding season despite her team’s woes without import shooter Sam Wallace.
AS much as the things she does on court (Klau is among the leaders for deflections and gains), it’s what Klau doesn’t do oncourt that matters just as much.
Klau has not thrown an intercept pass this season and has a miserly three turnovers, with her safe hands ensuring she’ll add to her 17 Test caps during the Games.
Like Bruce, can alternate between goalkeeper and goal defence and will trouble the most dominant shooters in the world.
Jo Weston
Melbourne Vixens goal defence Jo Weston has also earnt her place on the plane.
Practically a veteran at just 28, Weston already has 45 Test caps to her name and was a crucial part of the Quad Series winin January.
Can come out to play wing defence if Marinkovich is looking to run a tall unit, with her arms-over style trouble shooters and mids alike, or can shuffle back to ‘keeper to match up on the most dangerous goalers.
WHO MISSES OUT?
The call is likely to come down to Maddy Turner and Sunday Aryang, with both entitled to feel unlucky if they miss out.
Sunday Aryang
Much was made of the fact that Aryang became the first African-born player to turn out for the Diamonds when she made her international debut at the Quad Series in January.
But she was also the first player born in the 2000s to pull on a gold dress and is likely to have a long international career.
Started the season slowly but has roared back over the past few weeks to have a major influence on games and her combination with Bruce will hold her in good stead.
Reads the play well and her speed allows her to take a screaming intercept, while she can move into the midcourt if neededto play at wing defence as well.
Maddy Turner
Like Aryang, Turner is primarily a goal defence specialist who played a strong role in the Diamonds’ Quad Series win.
On numbers alone, her efforts this season don’t rate her as highly as Bruce, Klau or Weston but what she offers cannot alwaysbe quantified.
It was Turner’s suffocating defensive job on Sophie Dwyer that all but shut the young Giant out of last year’s grand finaland she is one of the best taggers and scrappers in the game, as her squad-leading 11 pick-ups suggest.
Has a great combination and understanding with Klau and can’t be counted out.
DIAMONDS DEADLINE: WHICH SHOOTERS GET AXED?
A rising star who has made every post a winner since bursting on to the Super Netball scene just six weeks ago, or a player who has been in the Diamonds program for the past two years but played just three Tests?
These are the meaty decisions facing Diamonds selectors as they whittle their squad of 18 named last week down to the 12 players that will represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games from July.
In getting to that final number, more cuts will be made from the shooting group than in any other position on court.
Seven goalers were named in coach Stacey Marinkovich’s squad but two - Gretel Bueta and Diamonds vice-captain Steph Wood - are a lock.
So five players are vying for just two places on the plane to Birmingham.
STYLE OF PLAY
Of the seven shooters named, all but Donnell Wallam can play across both goal shooter and goal attack.
The biggest question for selectors is do they want a holding shooter in the team? If the answer is yes, either Wallam or Sophie Garbin has to be named, although Garbin has showed since her move to Collingwood she can wear the GA bib and be effective as well.
The Diamonds won the Quad Series playing predominantly a moving circle, with Garbin hitting the court against South Africa and in the preliminary against England and showing her versatility as both a moving and dominant holding shooter.
Cara Koenen also has the ability to play as a holding goal shooter but it is certainly not her biggest strength, with her lightning quick drives along the baseline in particular bamboozling some of the best defenders in the world.
One thing is certain though, the Diamonds won’t just bring out a carbon copy of the plays that won them the Quad Series in London in January.
Coach Stacey Marinkovich knows they have to keep evolving. Whether that involves a change in personnel is the big question for selectors.
LOCK THEM IN
Gretel Bueta
Arguably the form goaler in world netball at the moment, Bueta can play at either goal shooter or goal attack and her ability to switch between the two seamlessly causes headaches for opposition defenders and coaches.
Named player of the tournament at the Quad Series in January, Bueta was outstanding in the final against defending Commonwealth champions England while playing at goal shooter as the Diamonds employed a moving circle.
Also ripped the Silver Ferns apart in the preliminaries playing in both positions in the circle.
Steph Wood
Stats only tell half the story for Wood, who is one of the smartest players in world netball.
A renowned sharpshooter from long range, it’s Wood’s ability to help the ball into the circle and find her shooting partner that’s as important as putting the ball through the goal.
Has a great combination with Bueta at the international level, while her connection with Sunshine Coast Lightning clubmate Koenen will also be taken into account by selectors.
DOES EXPERIENCE MATTER?
Wallam was the bolter of this Diamonds squad, added to the group just five games into her Super Netball career.
But the argument that Wallam’s inexperience should count against her is a spurious one.
The six other goalers named in the Diamonds squad have 84 Test caps between them but 70 of those belong to Bueta (36) and Wood (34).
Koenen (7), Kiera Austin (4), Garbin (3) and Sophie Dwyer (uncapped) all lack experience at the top level.
Koenen, Austin and Garbin made their debuts in 2020 at the Constellation Cup but because of the effects of Covid on the Diamonds’ international program over the past two years, have had limited exposure at the international level.
Austin’s knee injury kept her out of the Quad Series, where she was replaced by Dwyer after the then-teen’s outstanding Super Netball campaign with the Giants last year but she did not hit the court in the four-match series.
While she is a Super Netball rookie, at 28, Wallam brings a maturity that cannot be underestimated.
Kiera Austin
Had an outstanding debut in the Constellation Cup in New Zealand in 2020 when both Bueta and Wood were unavailable for the Diamonds.
But an ACL injury in the opening match of the 2021 season caused her to miss the entire Super Netball season and the Quad Series.
Her return with new club Melbourne Vixens was shaky but Austin has progressed in leaps and bounds, with her accuracy from long range in particular (60 per cent) outstanding.
Continues to increase her workload and selectors will be watching with great interest until the round 12 deadline for team nomination.
Sophie Dwyer
Forget the “rising star” or “young gun” qualifications for Dwyer, she’s already the real deal.
Austin’s knee injury gave her an opportunity to play extended minutes earlier than the Giants or coach Julie Fitzgerald expected, but the then-teen took the opportunity with both hands to show a maturity and ability that had her invited into camp with the Diamonds, and then selected as a Quad Series bolter.
Didn’t get on court in London but Marinkovich lauded her attitude and workrate in camp and the pressure she put on the rest of the shooting group.
Started the Super Netball season with a strong showing in the grand final rematch against the Swifts’ international defenders but was among the several Giants to contract Covid shortly afterwards and missed round 2 before returning to three games in a week.
Sophie Garbin
Made a nervous debut at the Constellation Cup in 2020 but looked right at home in the gold dress during the Quad Series having honed her game over the period between the two series.
Made the move to Collingwood in the off-season to gain more court time and while she’s learning to adapt at goal attack with Jamaican international Shimona Nelson starting at shooter, it gives her another string to her bow as far as selection is concerned.
Stats don’t look outstanding this season, mainly due to a bout of Covid during a compressed week, forcing her out of two games.
Comfortable playing in both a moving circle and as a holding shooter, Garbin will give selectors plenty to think about.
Cara Koenen
The Sunshine Coast Lightning shooter is the next most experienced Diamond after Bueta and Wood with seven caps to her name through the Constellation Cup and Quad Series.
Her combination with Wood and understanding of her Sunshine Coast Lightning captain’s play could tip the scales in her favour and after a slow start to the season she’s hitting peak form with a pair of stellar showings in the last fortnight.
While she can play at both goal shooter and goal attack, her forte is at shooter, where she has an uncanny knack of shaking her defender and finding great space to receive the ball close to the post.
Shot can get a little shaky in the big moments and can occasionally get outmuscled if she allows herself to get stuck in a body-on-body contest against physical opponents, although her fast footwork usually wears them down. Shaping as the next most likely to wear gold.
Donnell Wallam
The point of difference that Wallam offers as a holding shooter cannot be understated in the selection race.
At any other time, her inexperience would likely count her out of contention but the Diamonds are currently without a strong dominant presence and Wallam - at 193cm and already showing she can mix it with some of the best defenders in world netball - could play a crucial role in Birmingham.
After cutting short her stint in the English Super League last year following the death of her grandmother, Wallam had not played a match for eight months until she stepped on court with the Firebirds in the pre-season Team Girls Cup.
But fitness has not proved an impediment so far, with Wallam running out a full match on three occasions already this year and averaging over 55 minutes per game.
Could have incredible effect as an impact player, forcing opponents to change their defensive patterns when injected into the game, while her growing combination with Bueta at club level is another string to her bow.
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