The England Roses will be looking to bounce back from the thrilling game one loss in Newcastle, with Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich admitting she’s got some selection “headaches”.
After rookie Donnell Wallam stood tall on debut and won the match, Marinkovich will be tempted to give the goal shooter the nod to start in Sunday’s game two in Sydney.
Defender Maddy Turner didn’t see any game time against England on Wednesday and is expected to feature.
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Marinkovich admits she needs to find an answer for England defender Funmi Fadoju, who certainly made the competition take notice in game one.
“She’s got some hops doesn’t she!” Marinkovich praised.
“Obviously gets up in the air really well. It’ll give us something to look at and adjust to.
“That’s the first time the feeders have really seen (Fadoju). Credit to her, she came out had a fly and she made an impact.”
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Roses coach Jess Thirlby admitted the one-goal game one loss “stings” but would look to regroup for game two in Sydney.
“We got so close,” she said.
“I’m incredibly proud that we’re in that game. We’ve come [here], we really want to compete and contest, and make sure our strategies are robust enough to compete with the best in the world.
“We never let the game get run away from us. I think that’s a big step forward for us.”
Australia’s Men’s team will play the curtain raiser on Sunday from 5.15pm AEDT against the England Thorns.
The Diamonds will take on the Roses in the second Test from 7.30pm.
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SQUADS
Australia – Kiera Austin, Courtney Bruce, Sophie Dwyer, Sophie Garbin, Paige Hadley, Sarah Klau, Cara Koenen, Kale Moloney, Amy Parmenter, Jamie-Lee Price, Maddy Proud, Maddy Turner, Donnell Wallam, Jo Weston
England – Imogen Allison, Eleanor Cardwell, Jade Clarke, Beth Cobden, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Funmi Fadoju, Layla Guscoth, Jo Harten, Alice Harvey, Helen Housby, Hannah Joseph, Laura Malcolm, Geva Mentor, Nat Metcalf, Liv Tchine, Fran Williams
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