SHINING BRIGHTER
Your team owns every major trophy in the sport and you finished with a 16-3 coaching record in 2023 that included a World Cup triumph.
So how do you, Stacey Marinkovich, top a near-perfect year?
“We really believe that we’re not the finished product in the way that we can play the game,’’ Marinkovich, who is starting her fourth full year in the role, said.
“I think there are so many things that we’re still exploring, whether it’s personnel, combinations, positions, and now it’s actually playing against completely different teams again.
“The reality is if we stay where we are we’ll get passed, so we’ve still got to keep progressing and I just think we’ve got to do it in a realistic way.’’
Would a truly perfect year mean going unbeaten through 2024, even without a major title at stake?
“No! Winning netball is not easy, and we were beaten three times last year (by New Zealand, twice, and England), so there’ve been times when we’ve been challenged and there’s ways in which we’ve been challenged, so we’re very clear on what that looks like.
“For us to go better we’ve got to keep finding ways to evolve our game, to continue the individual growth of our athletes, and one of the biggest things is creating an experience that we cherish on every tour.”
What’s also been created over many decades is an expectation – as Marinkovich’s predecessor Lisa Alexander discovered to her cost after a pair of Commonwealth Games and World Cup silver medals, and as her replacement was reminded after a debut series loss to the Silver Ferns.
“There is no second place for this team,’’ said a coach whose goals extend beyond the winloss record ahead of what she calls “our big planning phase for the next marquee events’’.
CULTURE IN FOCUS
The next World Cup is in Sydney in 2027, with the fate/location of the 2026 Commonwealth Games still unknown.
Since the international retirements of Steph Wood and Ash Brazill after the August finals triumph over the Roses in Cape Town, the Diamonds have played seven Tests.
The next phase, Marinkovich said, was not just about performance, but culture, the systems in place and the progress required to avoid monotony and any temptation merely to rely on what has worked before.
A new and apparently larger national squad than what Marinkovich calls the “pretty skinny” current 17-player version will be announced through the Super Netball season.
“We’ve got room to add, and obviously we’ve got some really good youth that showed that
they’re tapping on the door just even from the way they played the Fast5 games,’’ Netball Australia’s reigning Joyce Brown Coach of the Year said.
But the incumbents must be dislodged first.
“We’ve got a lot of players that are performing extremely well in the Diamonds and it’s a team that it’s hard to get into. At the same time you’ve got to be at your best to remain there,’’ Marinkovich said.
The touring squad for the inaugural four-team Netball Nations Cup starting in London on January 20 is an unusual size: 13.
This is partly due to budget considerations but also because players who are unlikely to gain much court-time on a
longer than usual trip, which is comprised of back-to-back matches over successive weekends, could benefit more from their club’s pre-season than by sitting on an extended bench in the northern hemisphere.
As to the thinking behind taking an extra shooter, with Sophie Dwyer replacing Wood and World Cup reserve Donnell Wallam added as the third tall, different rotations are being explored, which Marinkovich will monitor closely.
“We’ve got some really good versatility that we haven’t really explored and particularly the (ball) delivery to it,’’ she said. “We got challenged in the Constellation Cup recently and I think that we haven’t gone to the absolute strength of our
shooters as yet, as a combination. So I’m really looking forward to what we can do within the circle.’’
So perhaps Sophie Garbin being tried at goal attack, for example, where she spent the past two SSN seasons with Collingwood; or Wallam as part of new combinations; Dwyer against different opposition and on the end of varied feeds.
There are new World Netball rule changes effective from January 1, too, most notably the long overdue end to the injury charade that permitted tactical substitutions or positional swaps after a goal was scored.
Still, Marinkovich may opt to gather information to be used later in the cycle rather than jump straight in. “There’s a lot to think about before 2027 and we’ve just got to use each tournament to get an understanding of that,’’ she said.
Another adjustment is to the short pass rule, which now requires sufficient space on the court for an opposing player to be able to make a genuine attempt to deflect or intercept the ball.
“That probably helps our defenders get in the play a little bit more,’’ says the coach, of one of the more minor tweaks that extends to areas such as a replayed ball and clarification and streamlining of contact and advantage.
NEW TERRITORY
The Diamonds have never played world No.7 Uganda, which recorded its best finish at a world cup when fifth after defeating South Africa in Cape Town.
The Proteas were unavailable for this rebadged Quad Series in London, with the She Cranes drafted in with three heavyweights.
“It’s actually brought a real excitement to playing this Nations Cup. It’s a historic moment playing Uganda, and our girls are really embracing it,’’ Marinkovich said.
“I’m really pleased with what the girls are delivering.’’