Australian defender Sharni Layton knows her team will be the hunted ones at the World Cup - and she wouldn't want it any other way. Photo / Getty Images.
Australian defender Sharni Layton knows her team will be the hunted ones at the World Cup - and she wouldn't want it any other way.
The Diamonds head into this week's tournament in Sydney on the back of a 19-game winning streak, making them heavy favourites to claim their 11th
world title in 14 championships. But it also means their key rivals will have been dedicating much of their planning and preparation to finding areas of Australia's gameplan to exploit - a prospect that doesn't faze Layton one bit.
"We love the targets on our backs. That's the only way we really want it to be. We've fought hard to be where we are," she said.
"We know what have to do to be able to get there at the end and it's not taking anything for granted."
While in previous years the top-ranked nations could expect to cruise through the pool play without really being challenged, the new format introduced for the 2015 edition means the big guns are set to meet earlier in the tournament. That means four of Australia's eight games will likely be against fellow top-four sides, including a highly anticipated clash against the Silver Ferns on day three.
