Netball: Diamonds look too polished

Australia won the gold medal match at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Photo / Greg Bowker

Midcourt could be the only possible chink in the Aussies' World Cup armour.

Given Australia's dominance of New Zealand over the past two years, there's a certain sense of inevitability about this year's Netball World Cup.

As Australian coaching legend Norma Plummer, now in charge of the South African side, said after this week's two-test series against the Ferns: "I just don't see the Diamonds being beaten at the moment."

That's not parochialism, just a good old-fashioned straight-shooting.

The Diamonds, who have not been beaten since October 2013, appear too fit, too polished and too experienced to be overrun at this year's tournament, which starts a week today in Sydney. But those inclined to clutch at straws have suggested the pressure of playing in a home tournament, and all the extra promotional events, media attention and public appearances that come with it, might just prove a distraction for the Diamonds.

Australian coach Lisa Alexander acknowledges a lot of extra pressure comes with hosting the tournament and her side have talked a lot about how they will approach the challenge, taking their cues from the way the All Blacks coped with the weight of a nation on their shoulders during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

"We've talked about this for a long time, being a home World Cup it just goes with the territory - we're not going to shy away from it. We will probably take more of the All Blacks' approach and embrace it, because you don't get it every day, it's a once- in-a-generation event really."

Alexander said her side had tried to prepare as best they could for all the hype around the event, ramping up the public appearance, coaching clinics and school visits on recent tours. She even joked the New Zealand media had helped to play a part.

"It's just about getting that balance right and we've talked about it that we need some time out and bubble time when it is just us. But also we need to be just a little bit more available than we normally would be.

"I guess our best practice is our home series, and we've undertaken extra clinics and visits each year as preparation and we're kind of getting used to it now. And even when we go to New Zealand where we get more press coverage, that helps get us ready for this type of event as well, so thank you, New Zealand."

Er, you're welcome?

But Alexander said the more crucial element to the Diamonds' preparation had been ensuring they continued to develop their game, knowing the likes of New Zealand, England and Jamaica would be poring over the tape from recent outings, looking for areas to exploit.

Unlike the Ferns, who had to virtually start from scratch with new combinations after making several key changes to their team for the cup, Australia have the benefit of taking in a relatively settled line-up.

But Alexander said that had its pitfalls as they could become predictable. "The trick, I guess, is getting the balance right of how much we work on ourselves and how much we work on our opposition," she said.

The only major change from the side that demolished the Ferns 58-40 in last year's Commonwealth Games final is in the midcourt, with a serious knee injury robbing stand-out wing attack Madison Robinson of the chance to star in a home World Cup.

The absence of Robinson, who has run circles around the New Zealand midcourt for the past two seasons, and a slight question mark over Kim Green's fitness, means the midcourt seems the only chink in the Diamonds armour.

Tougher competition in top four

England and Jamaica present strong threats in this year's World Cup.

England
New coach Tracey Neville has recalled veterans Sonia Mkoloma and Tamsin Greenway and experienced shooter Pamela Cookey returns after injury.

Norma Plummer believes the biggest reason to fear England is they will still be hurting after they bungled a prime opportunity to knock over both Australia and New Zealand in last year's Commonwealth Games final.

"To be honest with you, Australia should not have beaten England at the Commonwealth Games and neither should the Ferns. [England] had it on both teams and blew it," said Plummer. "I think they would have learnt big lessons from that."

Jamaica
The Sunshine Girls boast arguably the world's top two shooters - Romelda Aiken and Jhaniele Fowler-Reid. The only problem is, they can't both play at once.

By far the most effective use of Aiken and Fowler-Reid appears to be the tag team approach - playing them for a half each. Imagine how demoralising it would be for opposition defenders to toil away and pick up whatever scraps they can get off one shooter, only to come up against a fresher, equally intimidating version in the second half. But the Jamaicans don't appear to be as intimidating on defence.

Previous World Cup winners

2011 - Australia
2007 - Australia
2003 - New Zealand
1999 - Australia
1995 - Australia
1991 - Australia
1987 - New Zealand
1983 - Australia
1979 - New Zealand, Australia and Trinidad & Tobago
1975 - Australia
1971 - Australia
1967 - New Zealand
1963 - Australia