Diamonds MVP Paige Hadley shows the way as new nemesis emerges for Aussies: Talking Points

A fearless England challenged Australia in the Nations Cup in London overnight, but not even a 17-goal third-quarter blitz could stop the world champions, who took back control to win 61/59.

Here are the big talking points out of the match, which leaves the Diamonds as the only undefeated side in the series.

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MVP Hadley shows way back

An almost flawless game across centre and wing attack saw Diamond Paige Hadley named MVP.

Hadley, who took captain Liz Watson’s WA bib about five minutes before the last break, banked 16 goal assists, 26 feeds (17 with an attempt) and nine centre pass receives. She had just a single turnover and two contact penalties in 50 minutes.

Post-match, the vice-captain described the win as amazing. “That’s what you train for, that’s what you want international netball to be like,” she said.

“We knew the crowd were going to be against us. (I’m) really proud of the girls, especially in that last quarter, the fightback and (to) hold off a fast coming home Roses,” Hadley said.

She said fellow midcourters Jamie-Lee Price and Kate Moloney did their jobs before she entered the game to “steady the ship”.

“The attack end (of Kiera Austin and Cara Koenen) really grew in that last quarter. The shooters went to post. They had two good threats in there.”

The Diamonds will look to iron out problems in the last pool game against Uganda and in the final next weekend, Hadley said.

“We had a great start, then we let them come over (the top of us) in that third quarter. I think we got overawed by the crowd, the emotion and I guess the perceived pressure.

“For us it’s about sticking to our game plan. Our game plan works 99% of the time so it’s about sticking to that and making sure we can do it for 60 minutes,” Hadley said.

‘Undroppable’ Quashie stars

English defender Razia Quashie was among England’s best after getting the nod at keeper.

Playing on strong holder Sophie Garbin, the 26-year-old took a while to make an impact, but once she got her first intercept in the second, she was away, collecting another three gains in the third quarter as the Roses took the lead.

She played 51 minutes before leaving the court half-way into the last with a calf niggle.

Former BBC netball writer Denise Evans said 183cm Quashie is one of the leading candidates to replace retired defender Geva Mentor, who owned the red GK bib over her career.

“When Funmi Fadoju first burst into the scene with her flying intercepts and timely jumps, all eyes were on her. What did Quashie do? Worked hard in training, improved her game, believed and stayed in the mix. She quietly went about her business,” Evans said.

“Over time, Funmi has fallen out of favour and become more of an impact player. Quashie has been patient and relished her chance against world-class shooters in this match.

“She didn’t look like a fringe player at all. She looked like a regular starter … undroppable, even, on this showing,” Evans said.

Quashie, who has returned from two Achilles injuries and plays for the Saracens Mavericks in the UK superleague, said post-game benching starter Garbin was a big win.

“It’s so good to know that after all the hard work in rehab that I’ve done, I could come back and match-up against some of the greats,” she said.

“To have someone like (Sophie) Garbin sent off and having to work with a (Cara) Koenen … that’s just amazing and such a good end goal for my rehab.”

A key lesson for Quashie will be to adapt quicker when matching up on different opponents. When Koenen replaced Garbin, she “didn’t move fast enough or get in front enough”, she added.

Thirlby hails ‘moments of brilliance’

Despite losing by two, English coach Jess Thirlby hailed her side’s flashes of brilliance.

“That’s equal of a performance to when we beat them (in the World Cup) … if not better, in terms of those moments of brilliance,” she said.

“There’s so much for us to work with in that game. It really hurts actually because we know that we’re capable of a lot of what you’ve seen today. But we really let ourselves down.

“I feel like we gifted that game to them a little bit because our errors were really poor. Things like missed shots, that’s uncharacteristic for us. In those small moments I feel like we’ve really let ourselves down, but I love the fight,” Thirlby said.

She said the Diamonds responded to being challenged as anticipated.

“You’ve got to expect a Diamonds team to respond, they know how to win. We are wanting to win. We believe we can win. We are here to win,” she said.

“I think today you saw more of that and that is super pleasing. Does it hurt? Yes. Do we want another bite of the cherry? Absolutely. But I think our best today was excellent and there is a lot to be proud of.”

Thirlby was pleased her defenders won more ball than against Uganda in their opening match of the series.

“It was brilliant that we found more turnover against an Australian side, because we know how hard that is. And we rewarded most of that.

“But there were just moments, missed shots and a few passing errors … and those are the things we really need to keep working on getting rid of out of our game.”

A new nemesis for Australia

In a match where the “netball Gods were with the Roses”, England emerged as Australia’s new nemesis, according to ex-England international and UK superleague coach Tamsin Greenway.

Speaking exclusively to Fox Netball after the match, Greenway said a shift happened at Wembley.

“Honestly, I think England’s become a bit of Australia’s nemesis … in terms of the Diamonds were nine goals up at one point and had the opportunity to go 10 … and they just went to pieces a bit,” she said.

That moment was about three minutes into the second quarter, with the score 23/14.

“Sophie Dwyer put in a cross-court pass that was just never ever on in a billion years. Then she dropped one into the circle and it was back to five again.

“In the third, England shut down some stuff and then it’s really funny … the Diamonds just went a bit to pieces on it. It’s like they don’t know how to finish this off now and England never rolled over. They consistently keep going through what they’re doing,” Greenway said.

The Roses lived on the edge against the world champions, she added.

“It was brave, wasn’t it? Some of the stuff that landed … it felt like the netball Gods were with the Roses because I’ve never seen anything like it. We were just getting away with everything, which was insane and amazing.

“The game was amazing to watch, but even with the Roses doing that, Australia still got over the line. Some of the attacking netball the Diamonds played in the first half; I’ve never seen anything like it. It was brilliant,” Greenway said.

The Roses simply couldn’t handle the new shooting combination of Kiera Austin and Cara Koenen after half-time, she added.

“It was a very interesting game and more of a mental battle. What I was impressed with was England finally not making any changes until forced to at the end. That made such a difference.

“But I was very surprised how quickly Australia crumbled again and that’s something they’re going to have to address,” Greenway said.