Lessons must be learned from Diamonds defeats
Thursday 23 October 2014 14:10, UK
Our resident netball expert Anita Navin gives her view on England's International Series defeat to Australia...
Jo Harten is a lethal weapon and continues to impress. She looked slightly under-used in the second Australia test as many a netball enthusiast and coach would agree.
Servicing Harten more effectively will prevent her seeking to support the middle by exiting the circle very high in the third.
Looking at [Harten's] partnership with Rachel Dunn, this may be the time to rotate the two and place Harten out of the circle at Goal-Attack because we have seen her distributing a quality ball.
Looking at the partnership with Rachel Dunn, this may be the time to rotate the two and place Harten out of the circle at Goal-Attack because we have seen her distributing a quality ball. Dunn is effective in the Goal Shooter role with Surrey Storm so this switch may be noted for the New Zealand leg of this tour.
Geva Mentor was totally at home matching up to Caitlin Bassett and was there to disrupt throughout the game. When Mentor and Eboni Beckford-Chambers were on a one-on-one defence it worked for the pairing and Natalie Medhurst was stopped several times in her travels. Leaving Medhurst and doubling Bassett is now a risk given the recent Medhurst magic we've seen as she has stepped up to another level working under the expert guidance of Marg Caldow.
England did win the third quarter by three goals but it should have been more. The Aussies stayed in touch using their psychological prowess, not allowing the umpire decisions to affect their flow. At the critical time, every one of their seven players demonstrated a capacity to execute the perfect response - if the ball was lost they often won it back.
England’s Serena Guthrie did take a serious role in the attack, taking 10 centre pass receipts and doing her upmost to counteract the pocket-rocket Madi Robinson.
Jade Clarke was impressive in her role at Centre and England have several quality choices for this position. As a midcourt unit the additional structure and mix of strategy will support this group.
Against New Zealand the capacity of England to let the ball go and increase the speed of the ball through the mid-court will assist for sure. Anna Mayes commented on the error rate from game one in Bendigo and must surely take some positives from the New Zealand game in this respect. Safety can, at times, stop the ball being released quickly so it is critical that careful balance and precision in movement assists the ball carrier.
The rhythm and connection from the circle feeders for the Diamonds was classy and symbolised some incredible connections which allowed Bassett and Medhurst to ooze confidence. England have the capacity to succeed Down Under and if all seven are firing with intensity, the New Zealand leg could offer a different score-line!
Diamond Domination
In Canberra it was a game definitely won by those in the midcourt wearing green and gold.
It was a there-or-thereabouts performance by England according to a commentary colleague from Glasgow with the Aussies looking more and more polished in their execution and psyche each time they take to the court!
We know the game relies on two shooters to be world leading and net 90 percent-plus at this top level but this game was taken from England by the strength, accuracy and creativity of the Diamonds.
After almost suffering defeat to England in Glasgow, the Diamonds dazzled the crowd in Bendigo and Canberra with two high intensity performances proving their world leading position and unbeaten record for 2014.
England got close, so the Diamonds’ power forwards were even better that we ever thought they could be with their strong one-on-one defence and tenacity to do the ball-side basics well.
While many would not want to pinpoint individual athletes, there has to be acknowledgement of the ability of the Diamonds to transition the ball through the midcourt. Often in the game today the ball moved through the midcourt in less than six seconds which simply indicated the availability and capacity of the Aussies.
Renae Hallinan has a world leading mentality. She is physically at the top of her game and mentally she is a rock for her team mates. Most of all, she shows no fear or barriers when striving for perfection when she takes to the court. The distant memory of being deselected prior to the last World Cup must be a driving force as this individual is on a high trajectory of being better each time we see her on the world stage. She is a true advocate of training hard and demanding the highest possible intensity and work-rate on and off the court.
Also, any athlete should press the rewind and pause looking carefully at the Aussie WA ability to let the ball go from a range of release points with resulting in prime space for the receiver. Hallinan mixes her position on the tight one-on-one with the WA and will aim to gain a front position in an attempt to gain possession or disrupt the forward option.
