Liz Watson admits she will need to be carefully managed throughout the Quad series as she prepares to make her comeback after 10 months on the sidelines.
Liz Watson admits she will need to be carefully managed throughout the Quad series as the Diamonds captain prepares to make her comeback 10 months after undergoing foot surgery.
In an action-packed tournament that will see the Diamonds play four games in five days against second, third and fifth ranked teams in the world, Watson will play her first competitive matches since missing the entire Super Netball season with the Melbourne Vixens last season.
Despite his prolonged absence, the midfielder has still been selected in the Diamonds squad to face England, South Africa and New Zealand from Sunday and will do so as Australia captain after being elevated to a freelance role to replace loyal Caitlin Bassett.
Watson and Bassett, who has more than 100 caps for the Diamonds, both captained the team at the Constellation Cup, held in New Zealand last March. Watson was named full-time skipper last September after a rigorous leadership selection process.
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Australia came back from the other side of the divide empty-handed after losing the series to the Silver Ferns 3-1.
Back home, it became clear that Watson’s foot injury, which she had dealt with throughout her career, had deteriorated to the point that the only option was immediate surgery.
And after missing the entire Super Netball season, the 27-year-old will play her first competitive netball game on Sunday morning (AEDT) when she leads the Diamonds against fierce rivals New Zealand before taking on South Africa. South less than 24 hours later. .
Although Watson has progressed easily through her long rehabilitation and training regimen, she knows that playing back-to-back games, against the best teams in the world, has been a rather difficult return to action.
“It’s been an entire season and it’s been hard to look from the sidelines, but I’ve enjoyed being part of pre-season here with my club, the Melbourne Vixens,” Watson said.
“Right now I’m fine and I can do everything, we’re playing back-to-back games so maybe it’s something we have to deal with with the burden of my injury, but at this stage everything is going very well. .”
Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich said Watson had prepared well and was ready to “do her best for the team”, but did not rule out managing her time, especially with a team of 15 athletes vying for Commonwealth Games selection.
“In terms of time on the pitch, there are some things we need to work on across the whole league, but she will be ready and eager to go,” Marinkovich said.
Watson has captained the Diamonds in their last three games against the Silver Ferns in the Constellation Cup for one win and two losses, but hopes she can lead the team to a better result tomorrow at the Copper Box Arena from London.
“It’s always a rivalry, no matter what’s happened before, it’s always close matches,” she said.
Covid-19 restrictions have limited the number of camps the Diamonds team could run and Watson admits one of his biggest tasks will be to rebuild the bonds between the players.
“We play against each other a lot, so we know each other’s playing styles quite well, but we have to be able to play with that person and figure out how to do it in a very short period of time,” he said. she declared.
“We haven’t played England or South Africa in a long time so it’s hard to know what to expect, but I think we really need to focus on how we can play and how we can play. we can win and control what we can.”
The series is expected to see two debutants in Sunday Aryang and 19-year-old Sophie Dwyer. Watson praised the duo, dubbing them “the future of diamonds.”
With less than 200 days to go before the Commonwealth Games, all four teams will be looking to make the most of their last international hit before the Birmingham Games.
Individual players will also be looking to shine to secure their place in their respective squads.
“It’s a very important trip for us. We were hoping to play England at the end of last year but couldn’t due to Covid-19 restrictions, so this will be the last opportunity that we have ahead of the Games and we need to make the most of it,” Watson said.
Diamonds fans will be able to watch the games live on Kayo and Fox Sports.
Australia’s first game is against New Zealand at 3.15am on Sunday (AEDT).
QUAD SERIES DRAW: (AEDT)
Game 1: New Zealand vs Diamonds on January 16 at 3:15 a.m.
Match 2: Diamonds vs. South Africa on January 17 at 1:00 a.m.
Match 3: England vs Diamonds on January 19 at 6:30 a.m.
Finals: 3 against 4 January 20, 20 at 4:30 am; 1 vs 2 on January 20 at 6:30 a.m.
Originally published as Netball Quad Series 2022: How Diamonds captain Liz Watson will deal with foot injuries
