Diamonds prune the Roses, set up decider with New Zealand

The Australian Diamonds have continued their strong form in the Netball Quad Series to beat the England Roses 66-46 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, setting up a showdown against New Zealand for series victory.

Their dominant performance backs up the Diamonds dominant 68-43 victory against South Africa in their opening game of the series in Auckland. You can read about here.

In a closely fought first half, it was NSWIS defender Sharni Layton who kept the Aussies in the hunt as she put insurmountable pressure on Roses shooter Jo Harten, forcing the tourists into tough shots that brought little success.

Layton produced five deflections and three intercepts in the first half to assist the Diamonds to a slender six-point margin at the long break.

Looking to build a healthy lead, Australia began rotating players on a more regular basis in the second half as they drew on their versatility to skip away on the scoreboard.

The move paid off as Caitlin Bassett rocketed to 15-goals in the third term, while match MVP Natalie Medhurst played a crucial role in feeding Basset the ball, the duo helping the Diamonds to a 20 goals to eight advantage in the third term.

Come the final stanza, Aussie coach Lisa Alexander looked to further change things up as she introduced Liz Watson to the centre, and NSWIS player Stephanie Wood into goal attack.

Then halfway through the quarter she added Kristiana Manu’a and another NSWIS player, Caitlin Twaites to wing defence and goal shooter respectively. Showing the depth of the Aussie side, Alexander was pleased with how her players adapted, highlighting Wood’s efforts.

“Steph introduced herself really well, it was good impact, ” said Alexander.

“She does make everyone change their timing up a little bit, which actually assisted us, especially with Lizzy (Watson) in centre.

“I think that complimented everyone really nicely, especially when Caity (Thwaites) went into shooter.”

The game also marked the first time Wood donned the Diamonds uniform on Australian soil.

The next game for the Diamonds will see them in Melbourne for a showdown with the New Zealand Silver Ferns on Sunday. The winner will take out the Netball Quad Series.

You can watch the game LIVE on ONE, Fox Sports Australia and the Netball Live App.