After dominating the Quad series in London, Australia’s major Commonwealth Games competition will come from within.
The Diamonds head into the Commonwealth Games as favourites for netball gold after their Quad Series win, with the main competition now within the squad for spots on the team.
Australia took a 15-woman squad to London for the series against England, New Zealand and South Africa, with 14 of those getting time on court as coach Stacey Marinkovich tested several combinations in the final international hitout before the Games.
Only 20-year-old goaler Sophie Dwyer missed out, with Marinkovich needing to prioritise court time for even her most experienced goalers after Gretel Bueta (maternity leave) and Steph Wood (injury) missed Australia’s only Tests last year, meaning neither had played internationally since 2019.
“It is challenging. We haven’t had a lot of international competition,” Marinkovich said, alluding to cancelled series against the Silver Ferns and Roses late last year.
“Gretel and Steph really haven’t played international netball for nearly two seasons and Sophie Garbin had really only had one quarter under her belt a belt (heading into the tournament).
“The main thing is our training environment is so intense that we certainly got good eyes over what Sophie (Dwyer) is doing.
“She’s challenging our defenders in a completely different way and she certainly is continuing to evolve her game so I’m stoked with her progress and contributing how we need her to.”
Marinkovich has not ruled out picking players from outside the main squad, with the upcoming Super Netball season set to be one of the most competitive on record.
But there’s no doubt the players in the Quad Series squad have the jump after getting the job done in London.
“The entire squad knows that they’re pushing and contributing to the way the final team will end up looking,” Marinkovich said when asked whether the tournament had helped solidify her Commonwealth Games selections.
“To go back to (Super Netball), these girls certainly know how to set a standard and they certainly have a big role to play in making sure it keeps driving that within the competition.
“I think the girls that have been here have done a great job but it started way back (last year) when we came together as a group (following the Super Netball season).
“Each time they come together there’s a greater contribution.”
But having established a style of play with the Quad Series group, there are unlikely to be mass changes ahead of the Games given there will be no other international opportunities.
“Each time we went into a game we were very clear on what we were trying to progress,” Marinkovich said of the Diamonds’ Quad Series strategy.
“I think I’ve got a variety of combinations we can go to … part of the reason of being over here (was) to see the versatility that we’ve got.
“I think we saw some real strength in the combinations that we put out there and there were some changes we had to make on the fly and you can see the growth and strength of all of them is improving each time.
“That’s the part that gives you confidence – when you put things in place and you can see the rewards of it, so it’s hugely a confidence builder going into Comm Games.”
Originally published as Commonwealth Games 2022: Australia’s selection headaches ahead before Birmingham