The Origin Diamonds have started their Netball World Cup campaign in winning style, with a 86-30 victory over Zimbabwe in their opening match.
The Diamonds' speed, accuracy under the post, and prowess in defence were too good for the Gems.
The Diamonds took control early, causing a turnover off Zimbabwe’s opening centre pass with Cara Koenen converting under the post before slotting a second goal within the first 30 seconds of play.
Zimbabwe, ranked 13th in the word, were not going to back off though. They were hot on the Diamonds’ tails, momentarily matching their speed and intensity, and were spearheaded by an electric crowd at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Zimbabwe goal shooter Nalani Nyasha Makunde was causing a few problems early shooting 7/8 in the opening quarter.
But when the Diamonds increased the intensity, they were able to gradually pull away. The quick ball movement from captain Liz Watson and Paige Hadley in the middle was vital to breakdown the Zimbabwean defence.
The Diamonds defence was on song all match.Koenen was also integral under the post with her clever baseline work on full display. Courtney Bruce was also out hunting in the opening term, picking up five gains, three of those intercepts, to help the Aussies lead by 20-11 at the first break.
An unchanged Diamonds seven took the court for the start of the second term.
When they were quick, they were on. And Watson was finding the circle edge with relative ease.
The Koenen and Steph Wood combination was once again a force to be reckoned with, even though Zimbabwe’s defenders Elizabeth Mushore and Felistus Kwangwa had combined for six gains at the main break.
Play really opened up for the Diamonds in the second term, mainly through quick ball movement and limited turnovers.
Bruce continued her dominant performance, collecting another three gains, making that eight at the half while Watson had 24 feeds to her name.
Diamonds head coach Stacey Marinkovich made a handful of changes to start the second half.
Klau entered the court at goal keeper, Jo Weston pulled on the goal defence bib, Jamie-Lee Price subbed into centre and the shooting combination of Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin were injected into play.
Captain Liz Watson was a standout in match one.Garbin’s impact was immediately felt, putting away the opening two goals of the second half.
Klau made her presence felt, picking up two great intercepts and forcing the Zimbabweans to send the ball over the baseline in attack.
Watson went to the bench for a rest midway through the third with Hadley returning to the court in the wing attack role.
The Diamonds managed to stretch the lead again going into the final term of play with a comfortable 62-24 buffer.
It wouldn’t be a game with Kiera Austin in it if she didn’t sneak at least once intercept, and that’s exactly how the final term started.
The Diamonds finished how they started, fast, strong and clinical. The fourth term was no different. They took control early and continued to edge out their lead.
Hadley pulled some big numbers with 33 feeds and 18 goal assists while Bruce finished with nine gains, earning her the player of the match award.
The Diamonds will now turn their attention to the Tonga Talas for Saturday’s match.
The Talas, led by NSW Swifts coach Briony Akle, present a new challenge with a cohort of players who train or play with Suncorp Super Netball League clubs or in premier competitions within Australia.
