Australia has demolished South Africa in their final match of the year, as a brilliant first-half blitz set up the 27-goal win.
Proteas coach Norma Plummer could only shake her head as the Diamonds ran riot to claim the 77-50 victory on Tuesday night in Hobart.
Donnell Wallam had a 27-goal first half in just her second start for Australia to help set up the Diamonds’ 20-goal advantage.
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Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich emptied her bench for the remaining two quarters and while South Africa finally found some fight in the last term, it was too little, too late.
Diamonds skipper Liz Watson was named player of the match for her 31 goal assists and 27 centre pass receives.
Tuesday’s result means Australia take the three-game South Africa series 3-0.
It was the perfect way to finish what has been the perfect season for Australia – taking all titles on offer in 2023 including World Cup gold.
The Diamonds will now enjoy a rest period before the Quad Series gets underway in January.
Diamonds dazzle to defeat South Africa | 01:43
QUARTER BY QUARTER BLOG
STARTING SEVEN
Australia: GS Wallam, GA Koenen, WA Watson, C Hadley, WD Price, GD Aryang, GK Bruce
South Africa: GS Venter, GA Maseko, WA Chawane, C Msomi, WD Strydom, GD Pretorius, GK Maweni
Donnell Wallam – in just her second start for Australia – got the Diamonds on the board first in Hobart, after a long feed from skipper Liz Watson.
She had her second goal just seconds later.
“You would expect that is going to be the road over and over again for the Diamonds,” commentator Catherine Cox said.
“You always feel like you’ve got a bit of a get out of jail free card with Donnell Wallam.
“If in trouble, throw it up. Chances are she’s going to pull it in.”
And it wasn’t just under the post where Wallam was impressing, nailing her long-range shot to open up a 5-2 lead.
Courtney Bruce was able to cause the turnover when she went hunting outside the circle, but the Proteas remained within striking distance.
The Diamonds pulled ahead by six as the defence “strangled” South Africa to cough up possession time and time again.
Australia were able to pile on the points with the sheer volume of possession, in their highest scoring term of the series.
Proteas coach Norma Plummer was not impressed with what she saw from her side as they trailed 22-11 at the first break.
“Too much leeway! You’re giving her five yards! You can’t give her five yards on defence!” Plummer told skipper Bongiwe Msomi.
“You’ve got to be on the body, you’ve got to work her.”
“She needs them to lift. There is 45 more minutes to go,” Cox said of Plummer’s speech.
A rattled South Africa were guilty of repeat turnovers in the second as the margin quickly grew to 20 goals.
The quarter turned into an almost training run for Australia as goal attack Kamogelo Maseko couldn’t have her game two influence as the goals dried up for the Proteas.
Ine-Mari Venter was left to shoulder the scoring load for her side as the Diamonds took a 42-22 lead into the main break.
The Proteas had 18 first half turnovers alone in worrying signs for the visitors.
Defender Nicola Smith then summed up her side’s start perfectly: “It can only get better from here”.
Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich emptied her bench for the second half with a new-look attack and defence end.
Sarah Klau and Matilda Garrett came into GK and GD, Amy Parmenter into WD, Price shifted to C while Sophie Garbin and Sophie Dwyer came on as GS and GA respectively.
Only skipper Liz Watson stayed in position for the third term, as Parmenter grabbed an early intercept and then pulled in another turnover in just two minutes.
“Look how easy that is,” Cox said.
“She got out there and wasted no time!
“The frustration will be starting to set in, especially for Norma Plummer.
“Australia with the ball on a string.”
Parmenter was proving an absolute pest at wing defence as she had four deflections in less than a quarter of game time.
Nicola Smith finally got a win in defence when she got two hands to the high ball destined for Garbin, and when Dwyer threw it away, the Proteas almost levelled scores for the quarter.
It was a rare highlight for the visitors as they managed to restrict Australia to just 15 goals.
By the final change, it was the Diamonds leading 57-36.
Paige Hadley (back in centre) was the only change for Australia in the final term as South Africa finally found their rhythm.
They had five of the first six goals of the last quarter to give the side something to take heading into their upcoming series with England in December.
But the scoreboard kept ticking over down the other end as the Diamonds ran out 77-50 winners.
Garbin finished the pick of the shooters with 28/30 in a half at goal shooter, Dwyer managed 7/9. Koenen didn’t miss for her 15 goals while Wallam landed 27/31 in her 30 minutes of court time.
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