Liz Watson admits she will need to be carefully managed through the Quad Series as she prepares to make her return after 10 months on the sidelines.
Liz Watson admits she will need to be carefully managed through the Quad Series as the Diamonds captain prepares to make her comeback 10 months after having surgery on her foot.
In an action-packed tournament that has the Diamonds playing four games in five days against teams ranked second, third and fifth in the world, Watson will play her first competitive games since missing the entire Super Netball season with the Melbourne Vixens last season.
Despite her prolonged absence the midcourter was still selected in the Diamonds outfit to face England, South Africa and New Zealand starting on Sunday and will do so as the Australian captain after she was elevated to the stand-alone role to replace stalwart Caitlin Bassett.
Watson and Bassett, who has more than 100 caps for the Diamonds, both captained the side through the Constellation Cup, held in New Zealand last March, with Watson appointed full-time skipper last September after a rigorous leadership selection process.
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Australia returned across the ditch empty-handed after losing the series to the Silver Ferns 3-1.
Arriving back home it became clear that Watson’s foot injury, which she had managed throughout her career, had deteriorated to the point where the only option was immediate surgery.
And after missing the entire Super Netball season, the 27-year-old will play her first competitive game of netball on Sunday morning (AEDT) when she leads the Diamonds out against fierce rivals New Zealand before taking on South Africa less than 24 hours later.
While Watson has progressed through her long rehabilitation and training program with ease she knows playing back-to-back games, against the world’s top teams, represented a rather difficult return to action.
“It has been a whole season out and it has been hard to watch from the sidelines but I’ve enjoyed being part of the pre-season here with my club the Melbourne Vixens,” Watson said.
“At this moment I’m fine and I can do anything, we are playing back-to-back games so that might be something we need to manage with the load on my injury but at this point in time everything is going really well.”
Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich said Watson had prepared well and was ready to “put her best foot forward for the team” but didn’t rule out managing her time, especially with a squad of 15 athletes all vying for Commonwealth Games selection.
“In terms of court time, there’s some things we need to work across the entire championships but she’ll be ready and raring to go,” Marinkovich said.
Watson had Diamonds captain’s duties for their last three matches against the Silver Ferns in the Constellation Cup for a win and two losses but is hopeful she can lead the team to a better result tomorrow at London’s Copper Box Arena.
“It is always a rivalry, no matter what has happened before, they are always close matches,” she said.
Covid-19 restrictions have limited the number of camps the Diamonds squad could hold and Watson admits one of her biggest tasks will be to rebuild the connections between players.
“We play against each other a lot so we do know each other’s games styles quite well but we need to be able to play with that person and figure out how to do it in a really quick time frame,” she said.
“We haven’t played England or South Africa in a long time so it is hard to know what to expect, but I think we just have to really focus on how we can play and how we can win and just control what we can.”
The series is likely to see two debutants in Sunday Aryang and 19-year-old Sophie Dwyer. Watson had high praise for the duo dubbing them the “future of the Diamonds”.
With the Commonwealth Games less than 200 days away all four teams will be looking to make the most of their last international hitout before the Birmingham Games.
Individual players will also be looking to shine to secure their spot in their respective teams.
“This is a really important trip for us. We were hoping to play England at the end of last year but we couldn’t due to Covid-19 restrictions so this will be the last opportunity we have before the Games and we have to make the most of it,” Watson said.
Diamonds fans will be able to watch the games live on Kayo and Fox Sports.
Australia’s first game is against New Zealand at 3.15am Sunday (AEDT).
QUAD SERIES DRAW: (AEDT)
Game 1: New Zealand v Diamonds January 16, at 3.15am
Game 2: Diamonds v South Africa January 17 at 1.00am
Game 3: England v Diamonds January 19 at 6.30am
Finals: 3 v 4 20 January 20 at 4:30am; 1 v 2 January 20 at 6:30am