By Stephanie Smarrelli
It has been almost three years since the Origin Australian Diamonds played on home soil. But the 1088 day wait will be over come October when they face rivals the New Zealand Silver Ferns at home.
The Diamonds will then back it up by hosting a test series against England a few days later, rounding out a busy few months for the squad.
Then Vs Now
The last time the Diamonds played in a test match in Australia was 27 October 2019 when they defeated the Silver Ferns to secure a seventh consecutive Constellation Cup, led by Australia’s most capped Diamonds’ head coach Lisa Alexander AM.
Under Lisa the Diamonds won 83 test matches.
Since then, Stacey Marinkovich has stepped into the head coach role. Under Stacey’s leadership the Diamonds won the Netball Quad Series earlier this year and will aim to replicate their success back home in the Constellation Cup and series against the Roses.
This October the Australian Diamonds will play their first international match on home soil in more than 1000 days. On that day in 2019, the Diamonds scored 53 goals to New Zealand’s 46.
The Diamond’s captain at the time was shooter Caitlin Bassett who has since retired, paving the path for our current Diamond’s captain Liz Watson.
Star shooters Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip also pulled on the green and gold for the final time, leaving a gap for a new generation of Australian shooters to take their place. Cara Koenen, Donnell Wallam, Sophie Dwyer and Sophie Garbin have made their mark and join 2019/2020 squad members Kiera Austin, Gretel Bueta and Stephanie Wood in the current team.
There’s plenty of familiar faces in the 2022-23 Diamonds’ midcourt from that 2019 side with Ash Brazill, Liz Watson, Kate Moloney, Jamie-Lee Price and Paige Hadley in the squad. Joining since then is Giants’ jet Amy Parmenter.
Ash Brazill tore up the midcourt the last time the Diamonds played at home and was named Player of the Match.
Down the defensive end, four remain from the side that defeated the Ferns in 2019, with the addition of Fever’s Sunday Aryang further solidifying the strong line-up of Courtney Bruce, Sarah Klau, Jo Weston and Maddy Turner.
Both England and New Zealand will travel to Australia to face-off with rivals the Diamonds. Off the court Gretel Bueta and Ash Brazill have become parents, netball’s moved to Fox Sports and Kayo Sports, fans were locked out of stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have since returned.
The Diamonds and fans alike are eagerly counting down the days until the Origin Diamonds are competing in front of an Australian crowd again.
But the main question on everyone’s mind... who will come out victorious when the Diamonds take on the Silver Ferns and England Roses on home soil?
The international fixtures will be broadcast live and exclusively in Australia on Fox Sports, available through Foxtel and Kayo Freebies. International viewers won’t miss out on any of the action, with details to be confirmed shortly on how to watch the Origin Australian Diamonds matches.
Constellation Cup
Wednesday 12 October – New Zealand
Sunday 16 October – New Zealand
Wednesday 19 October – Australia
Sunday 23 October – Australia
England Series
Wednesday 26 October – Australia
Sunday 30 October – Australia
Thursday 3 November – Australia
