Netball World Cup: The squad Australia should pick, Lisa Alexander exclusive column

The Diamonds’ midcourt has been cause for much speculation, yet former Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander says the Aussies must trust in one veteran. Check out Alexander’s full squad here.

The Australian Diamonds netball squad is one of the toughest teams in Australian sport to win selection.

From a sport with over 1 million participants, just 12 players and three reserves will get the chance to represent Australia at the netball World Cup.

It is cutthroat and brutal. It is not a popularity contest. Coach Stacey Marinkovich and her selectors will be making tough calls.

I have walked in these shoes before as have many of the greats of our game Norma Plummer, Jill McIntosh, Joyce Brown, Wilma Shakespeare and Lorna McConchie.

Lisa Alexander celebrates during her time as the Australian Diamonds coach. Picture: Getty

It is the burden and the joy of selecting the team that will win the World Cup, making the decisions between players that are so close in what they contribute in terms of their skill, fitness, decision-making, X-factor and ability to connect with others.

It also comes down to trust, whom the coach trusts to go that extra metre or more and not take a short cut. Who is smart enough on court to choose the clutch moment to impact the contest to either win the ball or make the attacking move that unpicks the opposition in that moment.

As I have always said to the Diamonds in the past, performance at its highest level requires the following mantra, “doing the right thing when no one is watching”.

It is now our Stacey’s honour to choose the team that represents all of us in Cape Town. In a very short time frame she will have to coach to perfection.

The core of the team will still come from the Diamonds’ gold-medal-winning Commonwealth Games squad. Picture: Getty

She must search the opposition for chinks and win the tournament when it matters, moment by moment, centimetre by centimetre.

Here is the squad I would choose for the World Cup.

My Diamonds squad:

Goalers: Kiera Austin, Donnell Wallam, Cara Koenen, Steph Wood

Centre Courts: Jamie-Lee Price, Liz Watson (capt), Paige Hadley, Ash Brazill

Defenders: Jo Weston, Courtney Bruce, Sunday Aryang, Sarah Klau

Reserves: Sophie Dwyer, Maddy Proud, Ruby Bakewell-Doran

HOW I PICKED MY TEAM

I have chosen this team for its versatility, experience, leadership and will to win, and for the “Sisters-in-Arms”, the legacy of the Diamonds teams of the past, and the inspiration to add to this history.

Netball is a team game first and foremost, it was designed that way, “we before me”.

I had the honour of coaching the 2019 team to a World Cup silver medal in Liverpool and I’ve chosen seven athletes from that powerful squad in my 12.

Of the rest, four are now Commonwealth Games gold medallists from last year and know what it takes to win against the best of the best.

One player, Donnell Wallam, will be a major tournament debutant.

Yet it seems like she has always been in the team such was the composure of her performance against England last year under extraordinary outside pressure and how she proudly represents our First Nations People.

Donnell Wallam has the potential to be Australia’s X-factor in the series. Picture: Getty

WALLAM OVER GARBIN

The three toughest calls were leaving out Sophie Garbin, Amy Parmenter and Kate Moloney.

The reason I opted for Wallam is I feel we need a surprise up our sleeves, an X-factor.

I think Wallam has earned her place with her performances this year and to play like she did last year with that outside pressure was unbelievable.

The opposition has enough information on Garbin. Even though she did very well in the international series, they have the intel and analysis to break down her game.

She has had a very hard time at Collingwood with everything they’ve been through and the different role she has had to play on court, so I know this has been a tough year for her.

And I chose Sophie Dwyer as the reserve over Garbin simply because we will need someone who can play goal attack if they come in.

That being said, I would understand if Garbin does get selected because for Stacey, she must lean back on who she knows can get the job she wants done.

Amy Parmenter’s omission was a tough call for Alexander. Picture: Getty

MIDCOURT CONUNDRUM

The coach has to trust who she picks, which is why I’ve picked Ash Brazill.

You can’t go past Liz Watson and Paige Hadley while Jamie-Lee Price has been too dominant this year to ignore her form. Those three must be in the squad and Price has been better than both Kate Moloney and Braz in my opinion.

I know Braz’s form has been under pressure but I thought her game at wing defence against Liz Watson last week was very telling. Plus even though she was not a 2019 World Cup player, she just gives experience and you know she will cope with the tournament environment.

Maddy Proud is deserving of the reserve spot.

You pick who you trust – and Ash Brazill is one of the Diamonds’ finest. Picture: Getty

If I wanted to be really creative with my midcourt, I’d put Hannah Mundy in the squad. She has been a revelation this year.

When the Vixens have used her properly they’ve had a real gear change in their attack. Her strength is exceptional, she is a true feeder of goalers and that is a very difficult skill.

She might not get in this year, but she will be a Diamond in the future.

Amy Parmenter is another player who is probably hard done by, but I don’t think she quite has the experience yet. And Maddy Turner is doing a mighty job for the Swifts, so I feel for her that she wasn’t even in the original squad.

Originally published as Netball World Cup: The squad Australia should pick, Lisa Alexander exclusive column