Diamonds ready to fire in Cup
THE Diamonds’ brutal training intensity has captain Liz Watson convinced her side is on track to overcome the absence of star shooter Gretel Bueta and reclaim the Constellation Cup.
Australia heads into the opening match of the four-Test series against New Zealand’s Silver Ferns in Auckland on Wednesday primed for action despite being without Bueta, who revealed last week she was pregnant with her second child.
The withdrawal of Ash Brazill and selection of Jo Weston for the England series only, means the Diamonds will be without three of the starters who helped them to Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham in August.
But Watson is adamant the standards set by the Diamonds in training leading into the series means they will be ready to face the world No.2 Ferns.
“It honestly is the most intense training environment we have had (with) the whole squad here,” Watson said of the fight for places in the team.
“All of our data shows that these games that we play in practice are even more intense than a Test match because we’re at each other, we are so competitive but we also want to work in collaboration.”
The players have been going so hard at each other that facing Australia’s men’s team who will play a Test against New Zealand on Wednesday ahead of the Constellation Cup opener - was a reprieve despite the lift in physicality.
Watson said the Diamonds’ aim was to win the series, not only to regain the Constellation Cup it lost in coach Stacey Marinkovich’s first series in charge of the team in 2021 but to take another step towards their goal of winning next year’s World Cup.