Australia has given up a six-goal lead at the final quarter to draw 48-all with England in the Quad Series in London.
The Diamonds got off to a rocky start, giving up the first centre pass of the match and finding themselves three goals down before posting their first points on the board.
To their credit, the Australians then dusted themselves off to score four consecutive goals, and after a series of interceptions from Sarah Klau, they headed into the quarter-time break leading 12-9.
Unfortunately, their sloppy passing and failure to execute became a regular theme in the match.
In total, the Australians turned the ball over 26 times, leaking possession and squandering opportunities to push on as they tried to force connections instead of doing the preliminary work to set themselves up in a good position for the pass.
At half-time, the Diamonds were still up 23-19 after surviving a five-goal run from England midway through the second term, but the Roses were threatening to turn the momentum around.
Australia's troubles looked like they might be behind it at the end of the third quarter after Gretel Bueta and Sophie Garbin came off the bench to settle the Diamonds' attack with a six-goal lead, 38-32.
These two had a more relaxed partnership than the starting shooters, Steph Wood and Cara Koenen, but the change wasn't enough to prepare the Diamonds for what was coming next.
The hosts and current Commonwealth Games champions had been labelled as the favourites leading into this series, and they've every bit lived up to that hype, leaving teams like South Africa (71-47) and New Zealand (49-46) in their wake.
Ranked third in the world, the Roses have often failed to reach their true potential in past tournaments, succumbing to the mental pressure of facing powerhouses New Zealand and Australia.
However, since its maiden gold-medal winning performance at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the side has developed a new-found belief in its capabilities as a netball nation.
Their dominance in the Quad Series is a mere reflection of just how far they've come, and that was evident in their fightback during the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
In the second half, the Diamonds had the centre pass again to start, but it wasn't long before England won possession through Roses goal defence Layla Guscoth, with her cutting off wing attack Liz Watson's second-phase pass on the traverse line to Gretel Bueta.
Helen Housby converted the effort, meaning England had now scored first in every quarter, and her shooting partner Eleanor Cardwell followed moments later with another.
The Diamonds were rattled again, the same way they'd been at the start the match, conceding 9-3 to let England level the scores 41-41 midway through the final quarter.
Stacey Marinkovich made a swift change to try and shut down the Roses shooting duo, replacing Klau with Courtney Bruce at goal keeper.
Bruce did her absolute best from there to try to turn things around, but England had gotten a sniff and wasn't backing down.
With a minute left on the clock, the Roses managed to score back-to-back goals and seal a draw 48-48, but the result felt more like a victory for England given the circumstances.
The enthralling contest has set up a blockbuster Quad Series final tomorrow morning, when the Diamonds and Roses will meet again to determine the overall winner.
The trophy is the last international prize currently in Australia's cabinet, after it conceded the Commonwealth Games, World Cup and Constellation Cup Series over the past big tournament cycle.
A loss here could mean further damage to the Diamonds' world ranking and reputation, at a time where they are hoping to reassert themselves on the international stage.
Head coach Stacey Marinkovich has taken the opportunity to rotate through the squad during this series, trialling many combinations in all sections of the court in order to solidify her best options in the lead-up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Come Thursday, it will be unlikely to see the coach make the same positional changes so freely, knowing how today played out, with such high stakes on the line.
By now, it's clear to netball fans who has cemented a starting spot. Bueta, Hadley, Watson and Bruce have no doubt been the most vital players on tour.
Speaking after the match, Marinkovich said it was important the Diamonds went back to the drawing board to correct their play in the opening minutes of each quarter.
"We need to improve our starts in each of the quarters, so that momentum shift has cost us and we need to convert our centre pass so that we can keep accumulating the pressure," she said.
"This is what we're over here to do, to find variety in our squad and to be playing these sorts of games with high intensity and pressure.
"There are some vital lessons to be learned from it and going into tomorrow's game we'll reflect on it and see what we can do better."
You can watch the match on Fox Sports from 6:30am AEDT.
Quad Series schedule and results
January 16
England 71 - 47 South Africa
New Zealand 39 - 53 Australia
January 17
Australia 60 - 40 South Africa
England 49 - 46 New Zealand
January 19
South Africa 43 - 54 New Zealand
England 48 - Australia 48
January 20
3rd vs 4th 4:30am AEDT
1st vs 2nd 6:30am AEDT
