In naming a 19-member World Cup squad, Australian Diamonds’ coach Stacey Marinkovich has rewarded 24-year-old defender Matilda Garrett for a standout Super Netball season to date and laid down the gauntlet to seven midcourters vying for just four spots in Cape Town.
Ahead of the tournament which starts in late July, Marinkovich has swapped out NSW Swift Maddy Turner for Adelaide Thunderbird Garrett in the defence end, while retaining Commonwealth Games gold medallists Courtney Bruce, Jo Weston, Sarah Klau and Sunday Aryang.
Ruby Bakewell-Doran, who was part of the wider squad for the Birmingham Games but didn’t make the final cut, has also been named. Tara Hinchliffe, who debuted for Australia against the Proteas in the January Quad Series in South Africa, was omitted after rupturing her ACL in February.
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“Selection is incredibly difficult, but this squad has performed strongly, including success at last year’s Commonwealth Games,” Marinkovich said.
“Over the past two years we have seen growth in performance, both within the program and when competing against other nations.
“Matilda Garrett comes into the squad after demonstrating growth in areas that support Australia’s defensive style of play. Matilda is a tight one-on-one defender who maintains intensity and we look forward to seeing her develop in the Diamonds squad.
“We will continue to closely review performance across the Suncorp Super Netball season, with the opportunity to bring athletes into the squad over the next 12 months.”
In the midcourt, Marinkovich named Commonwealth champions Liz Watson, Paige Hadley, Ash Brazill and Kate Moloney, as well as Amy Parmenter, Jamie-Lee Price and Maddy Proud; all three are in scintillating form, unlike Brazill and Moloney.
In picking seven not six players, as she did in defence and goals, Marinkovich has essentially put her fringe midcourters on notice that the next month or so – before she has to name a final squad of 12, plus three emergencies – will decide their World Cup fate. Watson and Hadley appear to be the only “locks” at present.
In goals, the coach selected Commonwealth trio Steph Wood, Cara Koenen and Kiera Austin, as well as Sophie Garbin, Donnell Wallam and Sophie Dwyer. Gretel Bueta wasn’t available for selection as she is pregnant.
Most have Wood, Koenen and Austin in the final 12, but who grabs the last spot, left open by Bueta, will be fascinating. At present Wallam has to be moving ahead of Garbin, who is well below her best, and youngster Dwyer, who has still had little exposure at the top level.
It will also be intriguing to see if Victorian-born Garrett, who spent time at Collingwood before moving to the Thunderbirds in 2021, can make the World Cup side. Her naming is the biggest talking point out of the selection.
Former Super Netball sideline reporter Fiona Crowe said while many recent headlines have concentrated on the Thunderbirds’ star-studded backline, there has been little focus on the “huge growth” in 186cm Garrett’s game.
“While her Jamaican teammates, Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson, are taking intercepts around her and leading all-comers on the stats board, Garrett has been quietly playing a very classically Australian shutdown-style goal defence role,” Crowe said.
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“The hardest thing about this sort of role is working out how to balance the tight marking pressure with the penalty count that that style naturally attracts and you can clearly see that improvement in her game this season.
“Because she has been around for a while, it’s easy to forget she is only 24 and is just maturing into the best years of her career,” Crowe said.
While Garrett trails her fellow Thunderbird defenders Sterling and Wilson in every key metric, she’s leading Turner – the player she displaced – in a number of areas, despite playing 31 fewer total minutes this season.
With nine intercepts, Garrett sits 12th on the league list, well ahead of Turner who only has three and ranks 31st. The Thunderbird has more total gains – 16 to 7 – and four fewer penalties. Garrett is also one of only nine defenders in the league with a blocked shot.
