Netball showcase to help Alexander find Diamonds in the rough

Diamonds squad selection has been delayed to take in the Super Netball finals.

Jamie-Lee Price passes the ball against the West Coast Fever. Picture: AAP.

The final two matches of the Super Netball season could be key for players currently in the Diamonds squad and those on the fringes of selection, according to national coach Lisa Alexander.

An early list of 17 players was unveiled last month, but final selection has been delayed to provide selectors the opportunity to access form from as much match play as possible.

“That’s why we have put our decision off until after the grand final. We need to have a look at all the athletes that are still eligible for the squad, including the current squad members who are out there plying their trade at the moment,” Alexander said.

Sunday’s preliminary final between the Giants and Sunshine Coast Lightning will feature three Diamonds currently in the squad, and a further two at the West Coast Fever have already booked their spot in the grand final.

Lightning wing attack Kelsey Browne, not named in that initial national squad, gained plenty of attention after winning match MVP honours pitted against Diamonds stalwart Gabi Simpson in last Sunday’s one goal semi-final win over the Firebirds.

Browne tallied more feeds, goal assists and centre pass receives than any teammate, created a wealth of opportunities with leads off the ball and finished with only a single turnover.

Former Adelaide Thunderbirds coach Dan Ryan echoed the thoughts of many when he tweeted that Browne deserved “immediate” inclusion in the national squad after the match.

Alexander said Browne was “absolutely spectacular in that final”.

“She really helped contribute to a really structured and definite pattern of play in that forward line that they’ve been working on for a while,” she said.

The national coach also singled out the bravery and composure shown by the Fever in Saturday’s semi-final win against the Giants. Star goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler was removed in the first quarter with a knee injury, but the Fever never concede their lead in her fifteen minute absence.

Alexander was “really, really pleased” to see young Giants midcourt star, and Diamonds squad member Jamie-Lee Price given almost three full quarters of the game at centre. Price normally plays at wing defence, but Alexander has spruiked her positional flexibility as a key reason for her elevation into the national group.

That substitution now seems timely after stalwart centre Serena Guthrie announced yesterday that she will be returning home to England next year.

Guthrie has been widely considered the form player at her position this year, and her departure will leave the Giants with a significant hole to fill.

Yesterday, Netball Australia unveiled a new-look coaching panel for the Diamonds, with former Diamonds Clare Ferguson, nee McMeniman, and Megan Anderson joining Alexander as specialist coaches. Alexander said the departure from using Super Netball coaches helps lend some important neutrality to the national program, and that her new colleagues bring a “more contemporary understanding of where the game is right now”.

Ferguson and Anderson can’t match their predecessors for coaching experience, but Alexander said her focus was finding individuals who could communicate with a younger generation of players

The Diamonds’ international season kicks off in mid September with a Quad Series tournament also featuring New Zealand, South Africa and England.