Origin Diamonds opened the three-Test series against England with an opening win.
Written by Sophie Taylor
The first leg ended with Origin Diamonds winning 70-57 against England Roses.
Held in front of a sold-out South Australian crowd of 9,102 at the Adelaide Entertainment Center, the Diamonds got off to a strong start and showed no signs of slowing down in a tough, physical match.
The stage was set for a hard-fought opening match, with both the Diamonds and Roses proving that winning would not be easy.
Both teams went goal and goal early, but excellent defense from rookie duo Sarah Clough and Sunday Aryan kept the Diamonds in the lead and staying there.
Suncorp Super Netball opponents Eleanor Cardwell’s Clough starting XI kept the transition smooth at the other end, with midcourt efforts from Liz Watson, Jamie-Lee Price and Paige Hadley making the Diamonds’ It fit in my hand.
Everything came together in the second quarter.
The Melbourne Vixens’ combination of Sophie Garvin and Keira Austin was almost unstoppable and firing on all cylinders.
This load-sharing forced the Diamonds to take a firm lead until half-time, spreading the England defense thinly.
Meanwhile, Housby returned to being a goal shooter and Royce Pearson came on in goal attack, adding a burst of speed to England’s attack.
In the third quarter, Liv Chine entered the game as the goal shooter, providing a third scoring option to counter the pressure of the Diamonds’ defense.
From there, changes occurred in the Diamonds’ defense as Tillie Garrett entered the court to a rapturous welcome from the home crowd and Kate Moloney took the court for the final term.
The Roses improved greatly in the second half, regaining momentum and scoring an important win in the third quarter, cutting the lead to eight points at the final change.
Unfortunately for Australia, their momentum continued to waver after a difficult start until the final 15 minutes.
Midway through the fourth term, the gap narrowed to just five goals, but a strong second wind from Australia gave them back the lead and they returned home with an impressive 13-goal victory.
Rudy Ellis made an exciting debut in the green and gold, becoming Australia’s highest ever scorer against England (70 goals) and becoming Diamond #192.
Australia and England will prepare for the second leg of the series in Sydney on Sunday afternoon before heading to the final in Bendigo next week.
