“Better the gold medallist you know” appears to be the motto adopted by Australian Diamonds’ coach Stacey Marinkovich after she named a surprise-free, 19-player squad for the World Cup.
Despite calls from some quarters to add and adjust, Marinkovich and selectors Anne Sargeant and Michelle Wilkins resisted the temptation to tinker and named 11 of the 12 players from last year’s triumphant Commonwealth Games campaign – minus the pregnant Gretel Bueta – and added seven existing squad members.
The only material change is the addition of 24-year-old Adelaide Thunderbird defender Matilda Garrett, who is in red-hot domestic form, having recorded 11 deflections and nine intercepts across the opening six matches. She replaces NSW Swift Maddy Turner.
While the squad of 19 – which could have been as large as 22 and will be cut to 12 plus three emergencies ahead of the tournament – reflects a certain level of conservatism, it’s warranted given the Diamonds’ recent success. After having a bare trophy cabinet for a while, Australia now holds them all, bar the World Cup.
The “steady as she goes” approach also sends a clear signal to other nations that Marinkovich believes she already has the fixings for greatness.
Australia is the first major nation to name a squad for the four-yearly tournament, which will begin in Cape Town on 28 July; the first time it has been held in Africa.
Current world champions New Zealand will name its 15-player squad on 7 June, while England expects to unveil its 15 around 15 May. Australia’s final list will be revealed at the end of the home and away season in mid-June.
First-time squad member Garrett joins a defence line that includes the Birmingham quartet of Courtney Bruce, Jo Weston, Sarah Klau and Sunday Aryang, as well as Ruby Bakewell-Doran, who travelled to the UK last year but didn’t make the final team. Squad member Tara Hinchliffe was omitted after rupturing her ACL in February.
There are no shocks at the other end, with Commonwealth trio Steph Wood, Cara Koenen and Kiera Austin, as well as Sophie Garbin, Donnell Wallam and Sophie Dwyer, named.
West Coast Fever long-bomb specialist Sasha Glasgow, who is eligible to play for Australia and England and made herself available for both, was overlooked.
With most expecting Sunshine Coast Lightning pair Wood and Koenen and Melbourne Vixen Austin to fill three of the final four spots, the question of who takes Bueta’s place will be intriguing, especially given how poorly Garbin is playing for struggling Collingwood.
In the hotly contested midcourt, Marinkovich deferred any tough decisions, naming seven players: Commonwealth champions Liz Watson, Paige Hadley, Ash Brazill and Kate Moloney, as well as Amy Parmenter, Jamie-Lee Price and Maddy Proud.
Unlike Brazill and Moloney, who have been below their best lately, Giants Parmenter and Price and Swift Proud are in “too-good-to-ignore” form and now have the rest of the Super Netball season to force their way into a four-player midcourt which will no doubt include Watson and Hadley. Brazill and Moloney however have the power of incumbency.
Marinkovich was unapologetic about the lack of movement in her squad. “I think you’d definitely have to look at what the girls have done, particularly when they’ve been in the (Diamonds) environment,” she said.
“Super Netball shows skillsets, but we need it to be able to combine and we’ve got a very short preparation time going into World Cup, so it’s not about trying to add so many different things in.
“We’ve actually got to solidify our strengths and we’ve got some known gaps that we are trying to rectify,” Marinkovich said.
In a frightening sign for opponents, she also wants her side to get stronger.
“We have to get a performance that is better than what we had at Commonwealth Games. So, we really need to entrust what we’ve been building and the players that have been involved in that,” she said.
On Garrett, the coach rejected any suggestion she’s a token inclusion and said she is “absolutely” in the mix for the final 12.
“As much as we haven’t seen her in the (Diamonds) dynamic, we still see that there’s things that we think will easily transfer,” she said of her classic, grinding defensive style.
“You’ve got a big second half (of Super Netball) ... and we don’t know what happens with injuries, combinations, things like that, so anyone in that squad needs to be ready to put their hand up and get on that plane,” Marinkovich said.
The player herself wasn’t even expecting a call. “I didn’t even know selections were happening to be honest so it’s fair to say I was pretty surprised. It’s not something I really thought would happen for me … it’s still hard to believe.”
