NSW Swifts dual Premiership champions Paige Hadley and Sarah Klau have been named among the 12 athletes selected for the Australian Diamonds 2023 Netball World Cup team which will travel to South Africa next month.
The team, plus three reserves, is led by captain Liz Watson and vice captain Steph Wood. Watson is joined in the midcourt by Hadley, Ash Brazill and Jamie-Lee Price.
Wood has been selected alongside goalers Kiera Austin, Sophie Garbin and Cara Koenen. The defenders include Klau, Sunday Aryang, Courtney Bruce and Joanna Weston.
Another Swifts dual champion, Maddy Proud, was part of the Diamonds squad but has missed out on selection for the trip to Cape Town.
The Diamonds, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallists, will start their 2023 Netball World Cup campaign on Friday 28 July against Zimbabwe.
The 10-day competition concludes with finals on Sunday 6 August. Click here to see the full 2023 Netball World Cup fixture.
Ruby Bakewell-Doran, Kate Moloney and Donnell Wallam have been selected as the traveling reserves.
Under new World Netball rules, the three reserve players can be promoted into the playing list of 12 as permanent replacement players. Once a player in the playing list has been permanently replaced, they cannot return to play in the tournament.
Diamonds head coach Stacey Marinkovich said selection was incredibly tight.
“We have incredible strength and depth in our squad, which is a credit to each player’s ability to perform in both the Diamonds program and the Suncorp Super Netball League,” Marinkovich said.
“We are confident we have the versatility across our combinations, and I’m excited by the variations we can put out on the court in Cape Town.
“We have been building towards the 2023 Netball World Cup and we look forward to the challenge of taking on the world’s best.”
The team was selected by Marinkovich and national selectors Anne Sargeant OAM and Michelle Wilkins.
THE TEAM
- Sunday Aryang (West Coast Fever/Western Australia)
- Kiera Austin (Melbourne Vixens/New South Wales)
- Ash Brazill (Collingwood Magpies/New South Wales)
- Courtney Bruce (West Coast Fever/Western Australia)
- Sophie Garbin (Collingwood Magpies/Western Australia)
- Paige Hadley (NSW Swifts/New South Wales)
- Sarah Klau (NSW Swifts/South Australia)
- Cara Koenen (Sunshine Coast Lightning/Queensland)
- Jamie-Lee Price (Giants Netball/New South Wales)
- Liz Watson (Melbourne Vixens/Victoria)
- Joanna Weston (Melbourne Vixens/Victoria)
- Steph Wood (Sunshine Coast Lightning/Queensland)
RESERVES
- Ruby Bakewell-Doran (Queensland Firebirds/Queensland)
- Kate Moloney (Melbourne Vixens/Victoria)
- Donnell Wallam (Queensland Firebirds/Western Australia)
