Netball World Cup: Diamonds legend Liz Ellis predicts England will reach final
Thursday 6 August 2015 14:12, UK
It's one of the great rivalries in sport. Australia and New Zealand have contested every major netball final over the past 20 years; four netball world championships and five Commonwealth Games.
Netball’s heavyweights are favoured by most to fight out this month’s World Cup in Australia but Diamonds legend Liz Ellis isn’t convinced, boldly tipping England to beat out the Silver Ferns for a spot in the final.
Ellis, a winner of three world titles and two Commonwealth Games gold medals below delivers her assessment of the tournament’s leading contenders, players to watch and overall verdict.
AUSTRALIA
Strengths and weaknesses
“There’s a lot going for them. I think they’ve got a hugely versatile squad and it was unashamedly picked with that versatility in mind.
“They’ve also not been beaten in 19 Tests in a row, they’re on a huge run so confidence is something that’s usually in their favour as well. I think they’ve got one of the best defensive lines in the world and a shooting line that really understands each other.
“I don’t think we’re going to see an Australia v New Zealand final. I think it will be Australia v England."
“I think the only weakness I can see is we just don’t know how much the Diamonds are going to be impacted by not having Maddie Robinson (knee injury) there. She’s been a huge factor for them in their recent success in that Wing Attack position and the work she does really opens up the Goal Shooters.
“How well the Diamonds cope with her missing is going to be a massive factor.”
Key players
“Laura Geitz is in great form at the moment so the Diamonds need her to come though really well. I think Kim Green is also going to be pivotal, they need a fully-fit Kim in that Wing Attack position. Nat Medhurst is another one, without Maddie Robinson there I think she’ll probably do a little bit more work upfield and the Diamonds need her to stay as close to the post as possible.”
NEW ZEALAND
Strengths and weaknesses
“They’ve deliberately gone with a young squad that has some fresh faces in it so I’m looking forward to seeing how they cope. There’s players in that squad who have been thrown in the deep end. They’ve scrapped some older, more experienced players so that can go one of two ways.
“That can be fantastic for them and they’ve got players who won’t be scared of anyone or anything, or it could be a disaster if they’ve got players who aren’t used to big-time situations.
“They’re going to be a big feast or famine, the Silver Ferns.
“Their biggest downside could be that lack of experience, especially in their frontline. The other downside is they don’t have obvious Goal Shooters. They’ve selected their squad with some good moving players but there’s no one there who makes me think ‘well, she’s a real anchor in that Goal-Shooting position’ and I think they’re going to need that.”
Key players
“It’s probably Casey Kopua. She is coming back from a really serious knee injury but seemed to be getting better and better every time she got some game time in the ANZ (Championship) so if she can get close to back to full fitness, I think she’ll be a real danger for them.”
ENGLAND
Strengths and weaknesses
“England have gone out and made some pretty crucial changes and I think they’re good changes.
“I think the English team have under-performed and I reckon they’ve had players in the team in the past who simply have not stood up to the pressure and those players aren’t there anymore.
“They’re going to be strong at both ends but the real danger for them is the fitness of Geva Mentor. She had a pretty quiet ANZ season by her usual lofty standards and England need for her to be fully fit and ready to fire if they’re going to win. She wins them back a lot of ball and they are super-dependent on her.”
Key players
“I think it’s going to be Joanne Harten. She had a magnificent year and has been one of the best players in the ANZ Champs. At Goal Shooter they’re going to rely on her to finish it off for them.”
JAMAICA
“They’ve got the likes of Romelda Aiken and Jhaniele Fowler-Reid and their strength is they will have so many options in that front line. They’ve got two world class Goal Shooters but the downside is how do you fit them both in and whether their defenders will be able to keep up with the speed of the English and New Zealand and Australian teams.
“Jamaica have always had this great ability to score but haven’t always had the same ability to stop teams scoring and that again is going to be their major challenge.”
REST OF THE WORLD
Barbados, Fiji, Malawi, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Wales, Zambia
“A lot of these other teams have really good stories. Sometimes you can get caught up in the whole hoo-haa around professional sports and professional athletes but we’ve got some great athletes coming and what those teams provide are some really great backstories.
“I know with Uganda, their path to the World Cup has been anything but easy and to even be there it’s going to be an achievement. I’m looking forward to celebrating those sort of teams as well.”
LIZ ELLIS’ OVERALL WORLD CUP VERDICT
“I don’t think we’re going to see an Australia v New Zealand final. I think it will be Australia v England.
“You write off New Zealand at your own peril but I think the ANZ Championships have allowed so many players to come in and have that experience of high-intensity netball. That used to be the thing that really set Australia and New Zealand apart, but now you get to a World Cup and the players from England and Jamaica, they’re used to it.
“I think it’ll be great. For international netball to thrive and prosper we can’t continually have it always be Australia and New Zealand and just waiting for that week to get to that.
“You’ve got to have something else to offer and I’m hoping this year is it.”
There are several ways you can watch England's first World Cup match against Scotland with Sky. It will be streamed for free online at www.skysports.com while also showing the match live on Sky Sports 3 HD and Sky One from 5:40am.
