Australian Diamonds pick themselves up and dust themselves off after shock loss to England Roses

Netball fans around the world were taken aback by Australia's loss to England in the World Cup. According to head coach Stacey Marinkovich, there is only one way to win.

The Diamonds' message is very clear.

They're upset that they lost to England by one goal, but that hasn't changed their plan for the World Cup.

They'll get up, brush themselves off, and get back to work.

Many people thought the Cape Town final would be a rematch with Jamaica of the gold medal match from the Commonwealth Games.

But now it's time to focus on the semi-final objective and the road the Diamonds need to take to get to the final, and they're sure it's just as tough as facing off against New Zealand.

Australia's head coach, Stacey Marinkovich, has stated that the team's semifinal opponent doesn't matter.

A future matchup with Jamaica is likely, and she warned, "I think you've got to be able to beat anybody."

"For us, it's all about applying what we've learned from (the game on Thursday).

Nothing has been completely gone just yet, is the mentality. Nowadays, Monday is the new Friday.

That's what you've been working so hard for all week.

"The match against England was a great opportunity to evaluate our different lineups," the team said.

That "test" resulted in a 1-0 setback for Australia against the Roses, their first loss to England in World Cup action and their first loss to the old rival since the beginning of the year.

It was a bummer to lose by a score of 56-55. The Diamonds, however, are intact.

We're not devastated," Marinkovich emphasized emphatically.

This is probably how our championships go down. There will always be pressure because all eyes are on this game.

You can forget about everything if you win these games and reach the championship.

The girls are quite enthusiastic about this direction, which we are actively pursuing.

They enjoy being underdogs and will do so if necessary, so long as they have to work extremely hard.

Paige Hadley, a midcourter, said the team was eager for the match against Jamaica because of the difficulty it will present.

She admitted that the Diamonds' loss to England was disheartening, but said that it was due primarily to their own mistakes.

Hadley remarked that the team had strayed from the strategy of "putting their foot down and really converting" when they had the upper hand in a game.

However, you must pull yourself up.

It seemed inevitable to me that we would face Jamaica in the final or the first semi-final.

Any crossover we were dealt would have been a challenging game on the road to the championship because "you have to beat every team to get (to lift the cup).

"So we meet them early, and I'm looking forward to that challenge."

Hadley, more than almost any other player, is looking forward to facing the Sunshine Girls after missing much of the Commonwealth Games campaign with a calf injury.

To be out there on court being a part of this group both in that support and also in that playing capacity has been a highlight of the tournament for her, she said.

Hadley understands that she, her midcourt, and the starting seven won't be enough to win the game on Saturday.

She added, "I think the changes and injections that we have are bloody awesome." She was convinced that all 12 of them would be necessary to win.

As much as I'd like to be on the field, I realize that we'll need everyone's help if we're going to cross the finish line and go all the way to the final gold medal match.

The player said, "But personally, I'm stoked to even get to the start line of this tournament and be in good shape and just have a real hot crack out there in whatever role it is."

Playing Super Netball has raised the caliber of players all across the world, including the six Jamaicans who will line up in the semi-finals knowing exactly who the Diamonds athletes are.

However, Marinkovich and Hadley believe the Aussies benefit just as much from playing defenders Shamera Sterling, Latanya Wilson, and Jodi-Ann Ward, as well as talismanic shooter Jhaniele Fowler, each week.

Indeed, the Jamaicans "are certainly very confident, and they're very focused in what they're doing," as Marinkovich put it.

They've matured, and they're really eager, and it shows on the court. You've got six of them in high performance programs in Australia.

We've been facing opponents with similar skill sets all year, though.

"I think with that knowledge, it's actually connecting and shifting in actual scenarios - being able to use your court space and having the courage to go for the ball as well," he said.

The Diamonds will also benefit from having plenty of courage.

Australians will need to do a better job of blocking out the noise and what Marinkovich called "perceived pressure" than they did against England, as the audience in Cape Town will be rooting for the Sunshine Girls.

History, too.

Neither the World Cup nor the Commonwealth Games have ever had a Diamonds team lose in the semi-finals.

Hadley, however, assured us that such a thought would never occur to them.

I don't think you have the luxury of time to worry about it, she added.

These are the kinds of games you play for, the kinds of games you want to be a part of, whether you're playing South Africa, New Zealand, or Jamaica.

If we crossed over against New Zealand or Jamaica, we would be in the same situation of needing to win to advance to the gold medal game.

I welcome the difficulty. Everyone knows Australia doesn't have a chance, so they might as well try for it.