Dominant Diamonds: Australia downs England 61-45 to win Netball World Cup final
After finishing the last cycle without either of netball’s benchmark titles, the Diamonds now hold every major trophy in the sport.
Australia has won the Netball World Cup for the 12th time after a comprehensive 61-45 win over England in a largely one-sided final in Cape Town, handing retiring star Ash Brazill a fairytale farewell.
After finishing the last cycle without either of netball’s benchmark titles, the Diamonds now have the Commonwealth Games gold medal and World Cup safely in their keeping and hold every major trophy in the sport.
Brazill was outstanding in her final match, helping Australia win the midcourt battle that was crucial in deciding the outcome of the match.
England coach Jess Thirlby had lit the fuse for a spicy decider, the coach labelling the Diamonds a group of star individuals rather than a cohesive team following the Roses’ one-goal win in the preliminary stages.
But Australia showed the depth of its squad by running an entirely new shooting line-up in the second half and winning three of the four quarters to run away with the game.
Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin were injected into the match in place of regular shooters Cara Koenen and Steph Wood in the second quarter and grabbed their opportunity, 42 of the 61 goals between them and Austin winning MVP honours.
Austin had played 48 minutes of a possible 120 over the previous two games but Garbin, who was at one stage the tournament’s leading shooter, had not played a single minute since Australia’s penultimate round game against Malawi.
“I wasn’t really expecting it that early in the game but you’re always supposed to be ready to come on,” Garbin said.
“I was excited to get out there.
“I was super nervous coming on, especially not playing the last two games.”
Koenen and Wood have done a power of work for the Aussies throughout the tournament and had weathered the storm against Jamaica in the semi to get the Diamonds through to the final.
But just 24 hours after that physical battle they were not going to be at their best for a full match against an England defensive group that truly runs four women deep.
Coach Stacey Marinkovich injected Garbin into the game midway through the second term, with Austin following soon after as both Koenen and Wood headed to the bench.
Garbin had a nervous start but found her feet heading into halftime with no release of the pressure they had applied from the start the Diamonds headed to halftime with a four-goal lead.
“I think that’s the great thing about the Diamonds is that our best seven is different against every single team,” Garbin said.
“I think this year (winning) has taken every single one of us.”
DREAM END FOR BRAZ
Brazill, who was on the verge of tears during the pre-match national anthem, said she had closed her eyes and drawn on childhood memories of the game while trying to keep it together ahead of the match.
“I had to close my eyes and pull it together and it’s funny, every time I closed my eyes, I just thought about playing back in Wollondilly with the apricot skirt and the asphalt courts,” she said.
“It’s always been my dream to play for Australia and the fact that I’m at my first ever World Cup at 33, got my two kids in the crowd and my wife, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“Every setback has made this moment 10 times better.”
The Aussies established an eight-goal lead in the third quarter, just as they had in their eventual one-goal loss to England in the preliminary rounds.
But where they faltered on Thursday, they surged in the final, turning that margin into a 10-goal lead at the final break and eventually winning by 16 after a 15-9 final quarter.
Knowing they would win made it possible to enjoy the final few minutes on court, something Brazill said was a joy.
“It was surreal,” Brazill said.
“Paige (Hadley) and I were hugging while they were shooting a goal and there were still 45 seconds to go.
“(Winning) is all we really wanted to do. After England beat us and you read the articles that Helen (Housby) said that they were fitter than us and wanted it more … my blood was boiling and I just wanted to get back out there and play again.
“But they’re a class act team, I absolutely love playing England because when you go out on court, they’re so fierce and you’ve got to bring your A game and I think we all did that today.
“To a point we were really clinical and we probably didn’t enjoy it because we just knew we had a job, so the fact we got to enjoy it for the last two minutes, that’s how you want to go out.”
RELENTLESS DEFENCE
Courtney Bruce showed why she was named defender of the tournament with a ferocious effort on Eleanor Cardwell that eventually wore down the Super Netball grand final MVP.
After again making adjustments to ensure she wasn’t called relentlessly by match officials, Bruce found her zone and finished with six key gains, including two intercepts, with her efforts proving key.
Goal defence Jo Weston, who started alongside Bruce, had set the tone early, notching two gains in the opening quarter as the Diamonds showed they had come with a different intensity to last time the teams met.
Weston suffered a head knock in the semi-final against Jamaica and had to pass a precautionary SCAT (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool) test and follow-up assessment the morning after the match to ensure she was fit to play.
She was outstanding on the dangerous Helen Housby in the opening stages and after spell during which she was replaced by Sarah Klau, returned to the game late to finish the job.
SHOOTERS SHINE
Marinkovich praised her young shooters for being able to step up when the pressure was on.
“I think you just saw how deep our squad actually is as well,” Marinkovich said.
“Over the two (finals) games we‘ve had to use our entire group to win – to get to a grand final but to also win it.
“And to have 12 players step out and play their best netball, it wasn‘t about superstars, it was about connection and cohesion and I thought they did a really good job of that.
“Credit to Sophie and Kiera, they’re young players, they’ve had big years in SSN (Super Netball) and ups and downs at different points.
“But to come on in a World Cup final and have to shoot and run and connect when they haven‘t been out there for a couple of days, it just shows the character that they’ve got … and just the way they went into the game and went, okay, I’ll do my thing (was impressive).”
Captain Liz Watson, who again controlled the midcourt and the tempo of the Australian attack, agreed the pair was outstanding.
“It's not a surprise to us because they do it all the time at training and we see it all the time but for them to come out there and do it on the biggest stage in their career was pretty special,” Watson said.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Marinkovich has talked often about the expectation of performance that goes along with being a Diamond – for both coaches and players.
You only have to look at her predecessor Lisa Alexander – who lost two major finals by a single goal and effectively, then her job, after Netball Australia chose not to renew her contract.
Marinkovich had her contract renewed before heading to Cape Town after collecting Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham last year and the World Cup was the only major trophy missing from the Diamonds‘ cabinet on arrival in South Africa.
“It's so good to have the full cabinet,” she said.
“We set a goal together and when you step into this job or step into this uniform, there‘s an expectation of performance,” she said.
“I just think we've created an experience, not only in how we play the game but how we’ve come together as a group and I couldn’t be more proud of how they’ve conducted themselves around this entire tournament.
“You always want the win but you want to cherish the moment and I guess winning helps you do that but every little step across this whole journey for the last two-and-a-half years has been an incredible experience.”
‘BEST TEAM I’VE BEEN A PART OF’
Watson credited Marinkovich for setting a clear goal from the start of her tenure to regain the two benchmark titles and set up a culture that players wanted to buy into.
“It‘s the best team I’ve ever been a part of, they’re incredible people,” Watson said.
“Success makes the journey fun as well but we speak about moments and memories off the court and I can honestly say that comes into this environment leaves with a smile.”
On court, the Diamonds are what Watson calls “comfortable in the uncomfortable”, something they showed much better in the final than the first time they met England this tournament.
“Just absorbing their pressure and being able to capitalise on moments and extend the lead out,” Watson said of the good things the Diamonds had done against the Roses.
“Going goal for goal is something we speak about all the time and just being comfortable with that grind.
“I think we did it very well (in the semi-final) against Jamaica and then just took that little moment when we could.
“(The final) was a little bit nicer, we had a bit more of a lead so we could feel that moment at the end.
“It was just awesome out there.”
ENGLAND CHALLENGE
Marinkovich reminded her charges at three-quarter time that they had held a significant lead against England last time the teams played.
But in a sign that they had learnt from the last match – and that their wobbles last time were more about pressure than ability to compete.
Regardless of the barbs thrown at their rivals after that win, the Diamonds knew they had what it took in the final, especially as the match approached the end.
“We were not going to get overrun,” Marinkovich said.
“We pride ourselves on our fitness, our capability and our depth and you had to run as hard as you could for as long as you could executing skill – and if you had to tag out, you had to tag out.
“There was no holding back.”
The coach revealed the Diamonds had had to “up our run” by 15 per cent – more than we‘ve ever done against a top-five team” to get the win against Jamaica just to reach the final and the taxing effort meant she was always going to have to rotate players in the decider.
“England were ferocious in the battle,” she said.
“We know they jump hard at the beginning and we know they keep fighting and throw everything at you.”
AUSTRALIA 61 (Garbin 27, Austin 15, Koenen 10, Wood 9)
ENGLAND 45 (Cardwell 26, Housby 19)
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