Diamonds 2022: The highs and lows of Australia’s return to netball glory

The Diamonds’ Commonwealth Games gold medal winning year was full of highlights, but which moment shone brightest?

The Diamonds are back to their sparkling best after claiming four titles in a stellar international season in which they swept all before them.

While they never lost their world no.1 ranking, the Diamonds had somehow lost their aura after relinquishing netball’s two pinnacle events - the Commonwealth Games gold medal, and World Cup trophy.

Add in a new coach, whose first campaign in charge produced a Constellation Cup loss and the Diamonds were suddenly under the pump heading into a busy 2022 season.

They emerge at the end of the year holding the Quad Series, Constellation Cup, a Test series win against England and the Commonwealth Games gold medal following a dominant campaign that underlined both the individual superstars and enormous depth that coach Stacey Marinkovich has at her disposal.

After playing just four Tests in two years due to Covid, the Diamonds hit the court on 18 occasions in 2022, providing plenty of food for thought ahead of another pinnacle event next year.

For the 11 Tests she played through the Quad Series and Commonwealth Games, Gretel Bueta was unstoppable and the matchwinner the Diamonds could rely upon. Picture: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

PLAYER OF THE SEASON

Tough to split this one. For the 11 Tests she played through the Quad Series and Commonwealth Games, Gretel Bueta was unstoppable and the matchwinner the Diamonds could rely upon to get the job done. Not just a leader for the Diamonds, Bueta had the best defenders in the world tied in knots trying to shut her down and with her at goal attack, the Diamonds were humming.

Pregnant with her second child though, she skipped the Constellation Cup and England series at the back end of the year.

Courtney Bruce played 17 of Australia’s 18 Tests this year, shutting down the best goalers in the world. Reliable as a Swiss watch, Bruce’s ability to get her hand on the ball and frustrate her opponent is remarkable and she was as responsible as any attacker for the Diamonds’ dominance.

Amy Parmenter showed what all the fuss is about with a magnificent debut in the Constellation Cup and England series. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images for Netball Australia

NEW DISCOVERY

Amy Parmenter has been knocking on the Diamonds door for the past year and showed what all the fuss is about with a magnificent debut in the Constellation Cup and England series. With the support of the magnificent “Parmy Army” behind her, Parmenter is primed for a ding-dong battle for the World Cup spot with Ash Brazill, who missed the home Tests to return to play AFLW.

Donnell Wallam’s last second lay-up goal was like it was out of a movie script. Picture: Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images

MAGIC MOMENT

Donnell Wallam’s debut played out like a movie script, with her matchwinning goal in the final seconds of the opening Test against England sending the crowd into raptures and capping a personal week from hell. The mercurial Queensland Firebirds goaler is locked in a battle for a World Cup shooting spot with Sophie Garbin in a tussle that will run throughout the next Super Netball season.

BIGGEST HEADACHE

The midcourt. The Diamonds’ ridiculous midcourt depth is again going to pose the biggest problem for Marinkovich when it comes to selection. The coach left Jamie-Lee Price out of the team for Commonwealth Games only to have her respond in the best way possible in the home Tests, while debutant Maddy Proud won player of the match honours when handed a starting bib.

Australia only lost three times this year, once to Jamaica in the Commonwealth games and twice to the Silver Ferns as the sponsorship stoush whirled around them. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

WHAT WENT WRONG

Australia lost just three Tests this year. One to the stunningly good Jamaican side at the Commonwealth Games and two in New Zealand as the sponsorship stoush whirled around them. It’s offensive to the Silver Ferns to suggest off-court matters were the only reason the Diamonds lost, that’s certainly not the case. But it is a reminder to Netball Australia (NA) and the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) that the players are affected by what goes on around them and backroom ructions will have an on-court effect.

BIGGEST ISSUE MOVING FORWARD

The tension between NA and ANPA needs to settle if the players are to continue to be at their best. The Diamonds were able to block out the surrounding noise during this domestic campaign but that is not sustainable long-term.

REGENERATION

The Diamonds have had enormous success in winning matches but Marinkovich has also ensured her squad does not stagnate. Five players - Amy Parmenter, Maddy Proud, Ruby Bakewell-Doran, Sophie Dwyer and Donnell Wallam - have debuted this year in a move that has only added to the coach’s selection headache but leaves the squad ideally placed for the future.

Originally published as Diamonds 2022: The highs and lows of Australia’s return to netball glory