Nat Medhurst: Diamonds’ surprise World Cup loss to England exposed vulnerabilities they must fix

The Roses’ one-goal win over the Diamonds, their first victory over Australia in 13 attempts at a World Cup, means our path to the final now goes through Jamaica; a team who entered this tournament with enormous confidence and belief after an excellent Commonwealth Games.

Thankfully for the Diamonds, there is still a tomorrow and a chance to atone.

In 2015, we lost a round game against the Silver Ferns and, while I can’t say for sure how this defeat will impact the current crop of Diamonds players and staff, it certainly poked the bear in our case and ensured we didn’t make the same mistakes again.

These are the lessons and small adjustments Australia must make to bounce back.

FIX THE SLOW STARTS

It has been frustrating to watch this happen again and again and it isn’t just the viewers at home talking about it. Other teams in South Africa would have taken note, too.

I have no doubt the Jamaicans will be discussing the slow starts before Saturday’s clash and looking to exploit Australia’s vulnerability as best they can. Against England, the Diamonds found themselves down by five goals in the first quarter and were somewhat lucky to go into the quarter time break only two goals down.

The team must address this. Whether the fault lies with their warm up, having set plays in both attack and defence that guide their decision making or something else, they really need to draw the line on it now.

After all, they may only have one more chance to get it right.

ATTACKING MOVEMENT

In watching the Diamonds’ first quarter – and contrasting it with how the Roses clawed their way back in the back half of the game – it is evident Australia’s attack is in some disarray.

Players are making the same moves, often running on top of each other and not allowing for their usual, fluent netball to take effect. Even against a different style of defence and tougher opposition in England, the ball should still be moving with greater speed and precision, with players providing clearer leads to open up space.

Personally, I would like to see Cara Koenen stay in the circle at least for the first few passages of play. It looks as though there is too much movement, so she is the one that needs to sit back, allow the players in front of her to sort themselves out and bring the ball to her.

She is most lethal in the circle. Her baseline dodges and timing will beat anyone but against the Roses her movement much of the time was in the wrong place and counter-productive, even despite shooting a large volume of goals.

COACHING CHANGES

Much has been said about Sophie Garbin not taking the court but, given the countless changes made in the defensive end, I wondered why Sunday Aryang didn’t see any court time.

When Chelsea Pitman was finally put on the court for the Roses, her impact was immediate and immense. The flow that the Diamonds had stifled was back and England was able to hit circle’s edge with greater efficiency that made it harder for the circle defenders to stop.

Some of Australia’s changes were effective, but not all of them did or for long enough.

When constantly chopping and changing players, there is a fine line between it being effective and detrimental, with players second guessing themselves for fear of being taken off or not having the mental application to work through sticky situations. It can also imbue confidence into an opponent, who interpret the moves as a sign they have the upper hand.

Stacey Marinkovich said that she will review her changes and the impact they had.

What she learns from that review, only time will tell.

STAY ON THE GOOD SIDE

Umpires have been comfortable cautioning and warning players at this tournament.

In attack and defence, the Diamonds had players cautioned. That can have an impact, especially if the attention of the umpires is negative and early in a game. It can set a tone that ultimately umpires a player out of the game.

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The players have a role in ensuring this doesn’t happen. It isn’t about contesting less, but it is about the timing of it, how they engage with the umpires and the intent with which they do it.

Even in the Jamaica versus New Zealand game that followed Australia’s loss, Jamaican defender Shamera Sterling was on a warning and her next indiscretion would have been a send-off – all before half the game was complete.

On Saturday, the Jamaicans are going to come out tough. The physicality from their defenders will be evident. In many ways, the team that stays on side with the umpires from the first whistle will be at an advantage as the game continues at crucial contests and when close calls need to be made.