Adelaide Thunderbirds defender Matilda Garrett is the surprise bolter with a shot at Diamonds selection for the upcoming Netball World Cup.
The 24-year-old is one of 19 players that coach Stacey Marinkovich has named in her 2023-2024 national squad, 15 of which will receive a plane ticket to Cape Town for the major tournament.
Garrett was part of the Australian U21 side that finished runners up at the Netball Youth Cup in Bostwana back in 2017, and made her Super Netball debut a year later for the Collingwood Magpies before shifting west to her current club.
Last year, she was picked for the Diamonds development squad, but some excellent performances in recent weeks for the Thunderbirds, particularly in victories against heavyweights the Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever, have now seen her elevated to the senior group.
After six rounds of Super Netball, Garrett has 16 gains to her name – 11 deflections, nine intercepts, two rebounds and two pick-ups.
The other interesting element she can bring to the Diamonds is her inside knowledge on Jamaican imports and Thunderbirds teammates Shamera Sterling and Latty Wilson, who have taunted Australia with some damaging form both internationally and domestically over the past 12 months.
Still, the selection of Garrett is sure to catch netball fans by surprise, considering the other, more experienced players that have been overlooked in her favour.
Maddy Turner, Emily Mannix and Kim Jenner are all players that have been inside the Australian set-up before and would have probably been a more obvious choice than Garrett.
The other talented players that have missed the cut include Fever stars, midcourter Alice Teague-Neeld and long-bomb specialist Sasha Glasgow.
Glasgow sits second for two-point super shots in the league (30) and has been in scintillating form, while Teague-Neeld leads the competition for centre-pass receives (156) and goal assists (148).
Both were part of the team that lifted the Super Netball trophy last year in green, but there has been ambiguity hanging over Glasgow's desire to be part of the Australian set-up.
The 24-year-old goal attack is eligible to play for both her home country and England, and there have been rumours circulating as to whether she has opted out of Diamonds selection in order to pursue her parent's British heritage.
When the Fever were contacted a month or so ago, they told the ABC that Glasgow had made no decisions about her international future. Now it appears Glasgow may have more clarity on this, especially considering stalwart Jo Harten announced her Roses retirement just this week.
Instead, Marinkovich has stayed loyal to the shooters that have brought the team recent success, sticking with Sophie Dwyer, Kiera Austin, Steph Wood, Donnell Wallam and Sophie Garbin.
The big omission from this year's national contracted list and the Commonwealth Games gold medal campaign is Gretel Bueta, who has taken on an assistant coaching role with the Queensland Firebirds this season after falling pregnant.
While she is no doubt a huge loss in attack, the side have still been able to win the Quad Series, Constellation Cup and a Test series against England over the past seven months in her absence.
Garbin, meanwhile, has struggled to perform for the Magpies in the first half of the domestic season, scoring just two goals in 34 minutes in their recent ANZAC Day clash against the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
But she has been playing out of position at goal attack for the club and was the game changer that led Australia to victory last October in the Constellation Cup.
The Netball World Cup is just three months away and will be held from July 28 to August 6 in South Africa for the first time.
Only 12 players will make the final team, with three travelling reserves, after World Netball relaxed their rules around injury and illness replacements.
There is a lot of pressure on the Diamonds to perform at the event, after they conceded the crown to New Zealand by just one goal (52-51) last time.
The side went through undefeated to the final, having won seven straight matches, including their final preliminary clash against the Silver Ferns (50-49), but kiwi mastermind coach Noeline Taurua had kept a couple of tricks up her sleeve that made the difference in the decider.
If Australia can pinch the cup from their trans-Tasman rivals they'll have won back every title they conceded during a low period from 2018-2021 that made their world number one ranking feel a little hollow.
Since August, they've retained the Quad Series, reclaimed the Constellation Cup and returned to top of the Commonwealth Games podium, but the World Cup crown is the final piece of the puzzle and would certainly be the icing on the cake.
Aussie Diamonds 2023-24 Squad
Shooters:
Kiera Austin
Sophie Dwyer
Sophie Garbin
Cara Koenen
Donnell Wallam
Steph Wood (vc)
Midcourters:
Ash Brazill
Paige Hadley
Kate Moloney
Amy Parmenter
Jamie-Lee Price
Maddy Proud
Liz Watson (c)
Defenders:
Sunday Aryang
Ruby Bakewell-Doran
Courtney Bruce
Matilda Garrett
Sarah Klau
Joanna Weston
