Is the Diamonds’ worrying form another minor slump or a hole too big to climb out of? | Diamonds

“The Diamonds are getting used to shedding.” These phrases, from Netball Australia board chair Liz Ellis, minimize deeply. However whereas that might have been a scathing evaluation of Sunday’s 18-goal loss to New Zealand that noticed the Silver Ferns take an unbeatable 3-0 collection lead, it actually got here from 2021 – the final time the Diamonds misplaced the Constellation Cup.

Maybe these phrases supplied the workforce with the spark they wanted, or possibly it was merely a workforce that was rusty from two years of being out and in of lockdown, taking their time to adapt to a brand new coach. However from there, the Diamonds went on to win again Commonwealth Video games gold in 2022 and the Netball World Cup in 2023 – each of which that they had misplaced by a solitary purpose within the earlier cycle.

The Diamonds are one of many world’s most profitable sporting groups and their dominance has been so enduring that there’s at all times a lingering feeling that it should come to an finish. Through the years, Diamonds gamers and followers have gotten used to listening to the loss of life knell sound on the odd event when a collection is misplaced or a serious match goes awry, and have turn into simply as accustomed to bouncing again.

Nonetheless this newest collection loss will give pause to even essentially the most rusted-onfollower, for it isn’t simply the variety of losses, however the nature of them which have rocked the netball world.

The 2021 collection – through which Ellis questioned the workforce’s means to discover a solution to win – featured three Australian losses, by 5, six and two objectives. In the course of that collection, Australia additionally managed to drag off a nine-goal win. In the meantime within the 2024 collection, the Diamonds have misplaced by 14, 11 and 18 and haven’t even appeared aggressive. They’ve suffered massive defeats earlier than – a 25-goal loss to New Zealand in 2005 in a match when Ellis tore her anterior cruciate ligament stands out – however a dig via the historical past of the Australian workforce uncovers only a few losses with double digit margins. Three such losses in succession is unprecedented – by no means earlier than has the workforce misplaced three matches in a row by greater than 10 objectives.

Worryingly it’s the workforce’s senior gamers – who have been anticipated to type the spine of the workforce main into the subsequent two main tournaments – which might be headlining the workforce’s worries. Captain Liz Watson solely managed six purpose assists in her 35 minutes on courtroom in Sunday’s recreation, whereas additionally making a gift of three turnovers. Defensive stalwart Courtney Bruce recorded only one deflection and one acquire in her 42 minutes, giving up 11 penalties and two turnovers. Paige Hadley – who has been a part of the Diamonds arrange for nearly 12 years – stepped out of courtroom with the ball after a hard-fought acquire by her defenders within the third quarter, handing the ball straight again to the Silver Ferns, in a second that was emblematic of the match.

With two years earlier than the Commonwealth Video games and three years till the subsequent Netball World Cup, it isn’t the worst time for the Diamonds to be going through a disaster. They maintain a powerful margin on the prime of the world rankings checklist and may afford some losses as they experiment with their workforce and search for a solution to reassert their dominance. Coach Stacey Marinkovich confirmed her willingness to experiment throughout Sunday’s match, bringing within the comparatively inexperienced Matilda Garrett and Rudi Ellis, together with debutante Georgie Horjus. Whereas the modifications didn’t repay on the scoreboard, they at the least point out that Marinkovich is open to a altering of the guard. With solely satisfaction to play for within the closing recreation of the collection, there shall be loads of eyes on the Australian coach to see if she is going to begin her struggling senior gamers from the bench and provides the youthful gamers the advantage of a clear slate, slightly handing them than the virtually insurmountable job of clawing again a deficit.

Regardless of the unprecedented state of affairs the Diamonds discover themselves in, it’s unlikely their period of dominance is over. For all of the fears that surrounded the Constellation Cup loss in 2021, the workforce didn’t “get used” to shedding – the need to win is simply too deeply embedded in Diamonds’ tradition to be misplaced endlessly. However how lengthy it’ll take to dig themselves out of this gap stays to be seen and should come right down to the braveness to make dangerous choice calls whereas time is on their aspect. If these calculated dangers are taken now, this collection could turn into yet one more minor hunch that in the end precedes glory.