Australian netball great Kim Green fears the Australian Diamonds are fighting through “Groundhog Day” fatigue with players taking the court just 48 hours after a “whirlwind” trip home from Auckland.
There’s just two matches to go for the Diamonds this international season, but a jam-packed schedule has seen them play four brutal Constellation Cup clashes before immediately heading into the current series against South Africa.
Even rival coach Norma Plummer could sympathise with the Diamonds’ hectic international fixture.
Watch every game of the 2023 South Africa Series, Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo Sports. Join now and start streaming instantly >
“Having one day to fly in, I thought that was a bit tough,” she said after Australia secured a 62-43 win over the Proteas on Wednesday night.
“But it’s the resilience also of Australia. They are number one for a reason.”
The Diamonds suffered back-to-back losses in New Zealand, including Sunday’s Test, before flying to Cairns on Monday and playing Wednesday night.
Skipper Liz Watson confirmed the squad didn’t even get a chance to train together with new members Matilda Garrett, Amy Parmenter and Donnell Wallam before the Proteas clash such was the “quick turnaround”.
And the fatigue showed in stages on Wednesday night as the Aussies coughed up an uncharacteristic 11 first half turnovers.
“Way too many mistakes have happened in half a game of netball,” Fox Netball’s Catherine Cox lamented.
“World champions do not sit at 11 turnovers in just 30 minutes of play.”
While that figure sat at 19 by full time, coach Stacey Marinkovich believes rest before the final two games in Tasmania on Sunday and Tuesday will do her side a world of good.
“I’ve got three new players in the group and we haven’t been able to train given we just had to get here,” she said post-match.
“We got a lot of ball – I don’t think we maximised our opportunities.
“We didn’t actually put that directly to the scoreboard.
“We’ve had a really short turnaround (from the Constellation Cup).
“Probably as the game went on (there was) a little bit of mental fatigue for some.
“We just didn’t go to what was the easy, and tried to thread balls through. We should clean that up with some good rest between now and the next game.”
Green said for the nine players involved in both series against New Zealand and South Africa, it would feel like “Groundhog Day”.
“When it is drawn out for as long as it has been, these girls are tired. They’ve just got to stick with it,” she said.
Diamonds defender Courtney Bruce was the only player not to get on court for game one against South Africa, but played in every match against New Zealand.
Cara Koenen and Liz Watson played just the final quarter on Wednesday while only three players – Jamie-Lee Price, Amy Parmenter and Sarah Klau played the full 60 minutes.
#Australian #Diamonds #South #Africa #Proteas #fatigue #turnover #ball #Catherine #Cox #Kim #Green #Norma #Plummer #tired #Constellation #Cup
