Diamonds star Cara Koenen reveals how Australians pushed through punishing domestic and international schedule
The finish line is in sight. Cara Koenen discusses how the Diamonds survived and thrived a brutal 2023 schedule, writes LINDA PEARCE.
Netball
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As one of just eight Diamonds to have featured in each of the four international series played in a dominant 2023, Cara Koenen is combining a quest for continued excellence with the comforting knowledge that there are now just two games to go.
The foundation Sunshine Coast Lightning star was on court for both the Constellation Cup finale in Auckland and South Africa opener in Cairns over three whirlwind days before the weary Australians arrived in Hobart on Thursday for the tour’s two-part final leg.
With Liz Watson, Courtney Bruce, Paige Hadley, Sarah Klau, Sunday Aryang, Sophie Garbin and Jamie-Lee Price, Koenen has been part of every Diamonds’ campaign from the Quad Series in London in January, to the mid-year World Cup in Cape Town, then the final seven Tests under head coach Stacey Marinkovich.
“It has been incredibly big,’’ Koenen, 27, said of a packed calendar that also included a 14-round Super Netball season on top of the 17 Tests in four countries.
“Stacey spoke to us prior to the first game (against the Proteas) about just getting through these last few, and it’s been a massive year for a lot of us, off the back of a World Cup and even prior to that, Comm Games last year, it’s been a big cycle.
“So she said it’s a choice that we have to make: it’s whether we want to just get through these last three games or we want to really make sure that we’re stamping our authority.
“We’re world’s No.1s at the moment, but we want to make sure that we’re still putting the best product out on court, we’re enjoying the hard work and working together, cos it’s the last opportunity that you have, and you don’t know when you’re gonna get it again.
“So I think everyone’s got a good little bit of fire in the belly – and there’s only a few days left, and quick turnarounds between games, so it’s an awesome challenge for us as a group.’’
After starting at goal shooter in the first three Tests against New Zealand in a series decided by home courts and on score differential, Koenen’s past two have been 15-minute cameos in the less comfortable/familiar position of goal attack.
The first partnering Sophie Garbin; the second in a last-quarter combination with Donnell Wallam, the World Cup reserve who brings one of three sets of fresh legs to the South Africa series which started with a 62-43 victory in Far North Queensland on Wednesday night.
Koenen believes the versatility of the Diamonds’ squad in general and attack end in particular provides a strong and varied environment to develop in a more roaming role she has played only sparingly at the elite level.
“And I think it’s a good challenge for me to actually turn and go to post,’’ she says. “In shooter, I’m typically shooting from right under the hoop… so it’s good for me to be able to get out in front and challenge myself with taking a few wider range shots, too.
“I’m more than happy to embrace this challenge and add another string to my bow and add something else for defenders to look at.’’
With the resting of Kiera Austin leaving Sophie Dwyer as the only specialist goal attack in the squad of 12, deploying the mobile 190 centimetre Koenen out the front also adds height to a circle in the same way as celebrated talls such as Gretel Bueta (191cm) and Silver Fern Maria Folau (188cm) have previously done.
“I don’t see myself emulating either of those styles of games, they’re pretty incredible athletes,’’ the Queenslander said. “But it definitely does bring an advantage, obviously, having two talls, and I think that it’s something different for our line-up.
“So it’s still very early days but I’m really looking forward to having a few more minutes out there and being able to work with our incredible shooters out the back in Donnell and Sophie. They’re such strong targets to they make my job hopefully very easy.’’
Wallam is tipped to get the start in at least one of the final two games, scheduled for Sunday and Tuesday. The first-ever netball Tests in Hobart have also provided a serious climatic adjustment for both teams, who Magnetic Island-raised Koenen says “have gone from sweating pretty much just walking down the street to rugging up for some tops of 14 degrees’’ in the final destination of a triumphant year.
“God, I’ve been so lucky, I think, to be blessed enough to be selected in each of those campaigns, and they’ve been very successful, so obviously that adds to the enjoyment of it all,’’ Koenen says, having logged 32 Tests in just the two years since her debut.
“We love to win and we were really really determined to retain that No.1 spot and make sure that we’re really filling the trophy cabinet this year.
“So it’s been a massive year of netball, it has been really really big, but I think every time that you’re able to wear the green and gold and the coat of arms for your country is a privilege and you don’t know when it’s going to be your last, so I’ve enjoyed every second of it and… I’m hoping to continue that into next year as well.’’
But, first, two more fixtures against the fifth-ranked Proteas, featuring an injury depleted shooting line, but several very familiar faces in Koenen’s former Lightning teammates Karla Pretorius and Phumza Maweni in defence.
The trio was briefly reunited in the tunnel before running out onto the court in Cairns, and there are few secrets after so many seasons sharing the practice and match court as two former Lightning stars and a current one.
“I think it’s a great challenge when you have played up against someone in a training environment, because you just know each others’ games inside and out,’’ Koenen says. “So it’ll be time to get creative, I think, in this next little bit.’’
Originally published as Diamonds star Cara Koenen reveals how Australians pushed through punishing domestic and international schedule
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