Stacey Marinkovich has won her first international meet as head coach of the Diamonds, after the Australian netball team beat England in the Quad Series Final to secure their sixth title.
Played at the Copper Box Arena in London over five days, Australia prevailed despite some tired bodies on court, after a packed schedule and a tense draw between the same teams just 24 hours earlier.
England had been tipped as the favourites to steal the trophy, with form on their side and an experienced line-up.
And although both the Roses and Diamonds headed into the deciding match undefeated, the hosts were the better team throughout the majority of the tournament.
That began no differently in this match, where they recovered from a false start to take a dominant hold on the game and keep Australia at bay for the first 45 minutes.
Australia had picked a strong starting seven, after rotating through their squad throughout the first three games of the series to trial combinations and test impact players coming off the bench.
The strength in these connections were evident as the Diamonds started the match in the exact opposite fashion to yesterday, going 3-0 up before England had a chance to convert their first goal.
But it wasn't long before the Roses had levelled the score with a counterattack, and although the score remained tight, Australia started to become congested and stagnant as England ramped up their defence.
Heading into the first break, the Roses had led 14-12, looking threatening and proud of their efforts to turn things around on court.
This ability to identify the change needed during live play was a clear difference between the sides, as Australian players struggled to adapt without coach intervention — likely due to the different rules used in Super Netball.
You could see this in the second quarter, where they registered their worst 15 minutes of the match, desperately searching for a timeout or rolling substitution to help them find their way.
Steph Wood was shut down throughout this period brilliantly by England goal defence Layla Guscoth, who played a relentless body-on-body style of defence to create hesitation in the goal attack's mind.
These efforts were mirrored by the English mid-courters, cramming the playmakers into the pocket or pushing them wide so no-one could drive down the middle of the court, and put a lot of pressure on Gretel Bueta to open up space in the circle and reign in some panicked feeds.
Somehow the Diamonds finished that quarter even 13-13, but fans were starting to worry things would go downhill from here.
Instead, the fact Australia survived such a difficult patch to only be down 27-25 at half-time gave them confidence that a couple of tweaks and more defensive pressure could see them come out on top.
The third quarter was just as much of a grind, where the defensive combination between Klau and Bruce started to blossom and disrupt England's play.
Momentum was turning based on this, and the Diamonds went on a couple of hot runs off the back of their deflections and gains.
They did, however, find it difficult to adjust to the umpire's calls the longer the quarter wore on, and both teams were given a caution for repeated contact, relieving the pressure valve each time they gave away a penalty.
For a moment, this seemed to put Klau slightly off her game, making her tentative to contest ball. It also helped England to stay in front, as they conceded the quarter but still had a one-goal lead at the final break, 41-40.
Stacey Marinkovich sensed a change was needed, bringing a cool-headed Jo Weston back on to replace Bruce for the final 15 minutes of play.
The time spent on the bench watching the middle two quarters had given Weston a chance to make an impact, combining nicely with Klau to win the ball back six times and help Australia win the match.
As the Diamonds acquired more possession, their connections in attack finally started to gel. Wood reverted to the clever play-making we're used to, and as England tired, it started to become a much smoother transition down the court.
Midway through the quarter, English coach Jess Thilrby made a last-ditch effort with four changes to her side, but those players were too slow to find their feet against a now unstoppable Diamonds side.
At the sound of the final whistle, Australia had pulled away 18-5 in those final 15 minutes, lifting the Quad Series trophy with a blowout victory, 58-46.
The score line barely reflected the rollercoaster of emotions fans had been on, with Australia coming good at the end to showcase their strength as the world number-one team.
For her incredible efforts throughout the tournament, Gretel Bueta was awarded player of the final and series. Her experience and creativity proved to be a real get-out-of-jail card every time Australia was stuck.
Meanwhile, Marinkovich's report card should be given two large ticks, after she fulfilled the team's two biggest goals for the Quad series, by winning the title and firming up selections for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Now she's had the appropriate time to work out the best combinations for the team, Australian fans should be confident about where the Diamonds are headed under her tenure.
Quad Series schedule and results
January 16
England 71 — 47 South Africa
New Zealand 39 — 53 Australia
January 17
Australia 60 — 40 South Africa
England 49 — 46 New Zealand
January 19
South Africa 43 — 54 New Zealand
England 48 — 48 Australia
January 20
New Zealand (3rd) 51 — 50 South Africa (4th)
Australia (1st) 58 — 46 England (2nd)
