Netball World Cup: Likely Australian squad to be shaped by Super Netball season
The race for spots in the Diamonds’ World Cup squad is on. Some names are secure, others not. Who makes the plane to South Africa?
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Super Netball will not only be the proving ground but a literal training ground for the Diamonds ahead of this year’s World Cup.
National coach Stacey Marinkovich is banking on the quality of competition in the domestic league to give her players the edge they will need to take on the world’s best in South Africa less than three weeks after the grand final.
And Super Netball performances will be a key for any player wanting to wear a gold dress in Cape Town.
“It’s the best competition and a huge tool for our preparation to be honest,” Marinkovich said.
“Because the grand final is so close to the actual (World Cup) preparation time, we’re very dependent on this competition being close and ferocious and players being put under huge amounts of pressure each week.”
The Diamonds swept all before them in 2022, winning four international competitions before starting the World Cup year by retaining the Quad Series trophy.
While the bulk of the World Cup squad will come from the core of players that competed across those tournaments, Marinkovich said there was still there was still opportunity for others to push in.
“You constantly have to look at our depth and the variations we can go to because it just takes one injury say for the likes of Tara Hinchliffe,” Marinkovich said.
The Sunshine Coast Lightning defender who came into the Quad Series squad with Jo Weston out injured and made her Diamonds debut in South Africa, suffered an ACL tear last week, while shooter Gretel Bueta is pregnant with her second child and also out of World Cup contention.
“When you have different changes among things, what does that dynamic look like?” Marinkovich said of the ramifications for the Diamonds.
“I think we’ve got a really good understanding of the standard that we need to be able to play and I think we’ve got a better understanding of what players are capable of or have been capable of when they’ve come into the environment.”
SELECTORS ARE WATCHING
Diamonds contenders will be under constant scrutiny though, with Marinkovich and selectors at games live and picking through match footage before a national squad is announced mid-season ahead of the final World Cup squad towards the end of the fixture.
“Every weekend for the first six rounds, I’ll definitely be able to get to two of those games live and then get all the footage and it coded and get to pick apart the rest of the week,” Marinkovich said.
Given the team’s recent success, there are some that shape as automatic Diamonds selections.
Captain Liz Watson, vice-captain Steph Wood, Roses series skipper Paige Hadley and joint international player of the year Courtney Bruce are names set down in permanent marker on selectors’ sheets.
The difficulty for selectors will actually be in deciding who to leave out rather than put in.
There is some comfort though in a recent change to World Netball rules which mean reserves can be used as replacements in competition in the case of injury, illness, or extenuating circumstance.
That would have covered Australia at last year’s Commonwealth Games where a calf injury to Hadley meant the Swifts co-captain played a severely reduced role in Australia’s gold medal campaign, while experienced midcourter Jamie-Lee Price was unable to be brought into the team once the tournament began.
It means Australia will choose 15 players for the tournament including a substitute shooter, defender and midcourter.
Those most under pressure this season are likely to be Marinkovich and her selectors as they work out the combinations they believe will be most successful in helping return the only piece of silverware now missing from Australia’s trophy cabinet.
WHO REPLACES BUETA?
The toughest task they’re likely to face is deciding who should replace Bueta, who is due to give birth to her second child around the time the tournament is played.
Bueta’s performance at the Commonwealth Games last year was key to the Diamonds’ gold medal win against Jamaica and deciding on the mix that will be most successful will pose a tough task.
Vice-captain Wood and Sunshine Coast Lightning teammate Cara Koenen are all but automatic selections.
It leaves four or possibly five players vying for two spots.
Kiera Austin is the next most likely after returning from a knee reconstruction to take her place at the Commonwealth Games.
Austin believes she can find another level in her second year back from injury and with the ability to push into the midcourt at wing attack, provides a real versatility for Marinkovich.
Sophie Garbin made the most of her opportunities in the domestic Tests last year, showing outstanding form as a holding shooter in the Constellation Cup and series against the Roses
and headed to the Quad Series in January as Bueta’s replacement.
Donnell Wallam will be in a race with Garbin for the holding shooter’s role after making a stunning debut late last year and her fierce competitive nature makes her a real chance to wear the gold dress again in South Africa.
After serving her apprenticeship, Sophie Dwyer made her Diamonds debut late last year and while she also headed to the Quad Series, she seems slightly behind the rest of the pack in the pecking order at this stage.
The wildcard could be Fever goal attack Sasha Glasgow, who has been outstanding over the past year and could be added to the wider squad after proving such a reliable foil for West Coast shooter Jhaniele Fowler.
DEFENCE SETTLED
The defensive end is more settled for Australia, with Bruce, Jo Weston and Sarah Klau all but automatic selections.
Bruce played every Test last year and was outstanding for the Diamonds, while Klau played a pivotal role in the gold medal match in Birmingham.
Weston’s absence was felt keenly when she was forced out of the Quad Series in January with a calf injury.
While her unavailability opened up an opportunity for Tara Hinchliffe to make her debut, the Lightning vice-captain’s untimely knee injury means she won’t be considered for the World Cup.
Sunday Aryang has played almost every tournament since making her debut at the Quad Series last year, except for a few Tests late last year after sustaining a calf injury during the Constellation Cup.
But she is the early leader for the final spot in the squad, just ahead of the Swifts’ Maddy Turner and Firebirds rising star Ruby Bakewell-Doran, while the likes of the Giants’ Tilly McDonell and resurgent Vixens keeper Emily Mannix are also in the squad mix.
MIDCOURT MIGRAINE
The midcourt is where the selectors have the greatest headaches.
Australia has such enormous depth across midcourt positions the Diamonds could legitimately field two teams of stars that would dominate almost any opponent.
Diamonds captain Watson is an automatic selection as the world’s best wing attack, while Hadley, who skippered Australia’s series against England late last year, will also be in South Africa.
The battle between veteran Ash Brazill and rising star Amy Parmenter for the starting wing defence position will be enormous, while Price, Kate Moloney and Maddy Proud, are among others who played in the gold dress last year and will again be pressing for spots.
Moloney won the final spot in the Commonwealth Games squad last year ahead of Price and while the Giants vice-captain rebounded in the domestic Tests last year, neither she, nor Moloney were unbeatable at the Quad Series, opening the door a crack for Proud.
That stellar list doesn’t yet take into account former Diamonds Kelsey Browne and Kim Ravaillion, who face an uphill battle to break back into the squad.
Final spots are likely to come down to combinations and which players the selectors believe will give Australia the edge in key battles against Jamaica and New Zealand.
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