Young Diamonds ready to roll

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

By Netball Australia

The Australian Netball Diamonds are set to kick off their 2009 International campaign on Wednesday night when they face off with the World Selection Team in Adelaide.

With limited preparation and an overflow of injuries, Diamonds coach Norma Plummer is quietly confident her charges are primed for the challenges ahead.

“The players are as ready as they can be with the limited preparations we`ve had, but all the players have been around for a while and they have a good grasp of communication,” Plummer said.

“They are smart enough to pick up the changes and direction.”

Plummer has faced multiple obstacles in the lead to the series with three of her more experienced defenders ruled out through injury.

Key defender Mo’onia Gerrard was the latest withdrawal joining Bianca Chatfield (knee) and Laura Geitz (hand) on the sidelines.

Gerrard was ruled out last week with an ankle injury and has since undergone surgery.

“We`ve had three major blows to our backline which has brought up opportunities for others and these girls are not intimidated they are confident and rearing to go,” Plummer said.

Australian U/21 representative Amy Steel is the latest addition to the team coming off her impressive performances at the World Youth Netball Championship.

She will join Julie Corletto, Johanna Curran and Susan Furhmann in the defence end as they face the difficult task of taming Jamaican shooting machine Romelda Aiken.

For the World Selection Team, they are beaming with confidence after their 2-1 series win over the Silver Ferns, with the performances of English duo Geva Mentor and Sonia Mkoloma outstanding.

For Mentor, she is excited to be back in Adelaide and is hoping her services for the Thunderbirds in the ANZ Championship will secure her side some crowd support.

“We are all really looking forward to putting in a good performance, I’m hoping that I can sway the fans to support us,” Mentor said.

“We have confidence off the success we had in New Zealand but now the dynamics have changed a little.”

There have been four changes to the World Selection Team from the New Zealand series.
Former Silver Fern Donna Wilkins joins the shooting circle, Wendy Telfer and Debbie White complete the mid court and Vili Davu makes up a formidable backline.

The new look Diamonds, boasting four uncapped players, will certainly be tested in the contest but for skipper Sharelle McMahon, she simply cannot wait to get back out on court after missing the 2008 season through injury.

“I am really excited to be back. I was only thinking the other day that the 2007 World Championship final was my last game for Australia, that is almost two years ago,” McMahon said.

Although McMahon has captained Australia previously, this series will be her first in charge since her official appointment to the position in July last year.

“This is the first time I have taken the captaincy in this role and with all the new players there is a great feeling in the group,” she said.

“Everything is going really well, and the team is meshing well together.”

The Diamonds will play the World Selection at ETSA Park with the first centre pass at 7.15pm and delayed coverage of the game on Network Ten and ONE at 11pm.

The Diamonds will then head to Sydney to tackle the Silver Ferns in the first test of the Holden Test Series on Sunday at Acer Arena.