Baby Diamonds: Meet Lucy Austin

By Linda Pearce 

Lucy Austin was an easy target for Origin Diamonds leaders Liz Watson and Kate Moloney, and not necessarily under the post. Easy to wind up. Odds-on to react. Happy to join in the laughs. 

“She was someone who could take the banter and give it back as well,’’ Watson said. 

“That was what we loved about her. She brought so much energy and excitement to this group, and the connections that we were creating with her off the court were only going to help us on the court.’’ 

As one of four players — including Ash Ervin and Georgie Horjus, all younger than 24 — to debut for Australia during the two recent international series, Austin confessed she had been up for fun as well as games, having played her first Test against South Africa in her home town of Adelaide last month. 

Mundy was a friend and co-conspirator, and if the spirited duo had ever roomed together on tour, then their captain predicted: “lots of TikToks, a bit of chaos. Who knows what happened behind closed doors with those two.”  

One probability: a shared fear of running late that Watson predicted would lead them to arrive everywhere 15 minutes early. 

“Oh, to be honest, I think Hannah’s actually way crazier than me,’’ Austin said.  

“Everyone just stirred me up and I probably reacted and that’s probably why everyone thought I was funny. Lizzy and Kate definitely stirred me up a little bit.’’  

About what, exactly?  

“Oh, literally anything. I was pretty easy to wind up.’’ 

And prone to tearing up, too, apparently. 

“She was someone who cared so much, so she would cry at anything that was a little bit sad or a little bit emotional — whether it was, I don’t know, when we were watching a TV show or something,’’ Watson said. 

“I think she just had such a caring nature that we were all like: ‘Lucy would cry at that, Lucy would cry at that’. In a really good way.’’ 

Then there was the Lucy Dance. Watson had not yet been a witness, although Georgie Horjus and Tilly Garrett were among the regular viewers. 

So how did Austin describe it? 

With a self-effacing laugh, initially, during our chat on her relocation road trip from Adelaide to Sydney, where she was to join GIANTS Netball for 2026. 

“It was one I did in the gym sometimes. I couldn’t even explain it. To be honest, it was a bit of a dad dance,” she said. 

Watson knew how daunting and emotional it could be as a baby Diamond in an older squad environment, having first been an invitee in 2015 after just one full season with the Melbourne Vixens, before making her international debut aged 21. 

The now-Lightning midcourter was determined to provide a safe, welcoming place for the next generation that allowed individual personalities to shine through. 

“It was really exciting to see them come in, be themselves, bring that off-court fun and energy; it was something we really, really loved,’’ the skipper, who had been appointed to lead her country through to the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, said. 

“Obviously on court as well they showed they could play in really big moments. They took it to some of the most experienced girls in this group and we always spoke about this environment being super-competitive — from whether you were the eldest, the most capped, to the youngest and the least capped. The took on that challenge. 

“They wanted to get in there, they wanted to learn so much, they were soaking up everything that it was to be a Diamond, and it was really great to see as a leader of this group.’’ 

Austin, unquestionably, was that year’s bolter. Despite not appearing for the Thunderbirds in Suncorp Super Netball after round three, the second-year national squad invitee was selected in the 15 and eventually brought into the 12 against the Proteas, before taking the court halfway through game three. 

Austin remembered little of the dress presentation ceremony involving former local great Jenny Borlase but, with around 20 family members and friends in the stands, savoured a feeling during the national anthem that was: “very surreal and something I’d never forget.’’ 

So had someone said at the start of the year she would be overlooked for all but two games by the T-birds for “the balance of the team” yet end 2025 as Diamond #196, what would Austin have said? 

“It’s been pretty crazy, the year I’ve had. I don’t know what I would have thought — probably wouldn’t have believed them. But I was proud of myself for never giving up and not stopping, and always backing myself in. 

“I just kept working. Even though I wasn’t playing SSN I was still getting to play netball (at Premier League level for Matrics), so just being able to work on my craft and different aspects of my game behind the scenes, and then getting the opportunity in the Diamonds environment to showcase that and work closely with Stacey (Marinkovich) to be ready for that call-up — I guess all that hard work put me in good stead for that opportunity.’’ 

Watson had been impressed by Austin’s response to a difficult national league season and the way the strong 190cm goaler had taken it to seasoned defenders Courtney Bruce and Sarah Klau on the training court. 

“She was physical, she turned to the post and shot and she wasn’t afraid to shoot long,’’ Watson said. 

“She was definitely working on her holds and her dynamic game as well, so I thought she was going to be an asset for this group for such a long time — to be that tall target but also someone who could move. 

“Also that element of fun and ability to learn and be coached was something we were really proud of. We knew that she was going to be in this green and gold dress for a really long time.’’ 

As a bright future — one that could potentially have involved the 2032 Brisbane Olympics should the sport’s bid for inclusion succeed — beckoned, the 23-year-old’s past had roots in the tiny wheat farming community of Bute on SA’s Yorke Peninsula that her extended family called home. 

While born and bred in Adelaide, Austin loved getting out to the regions for coaching clinics and was a keen role model who aimed to inspire country kids generally and young shooters everywhere, as an example of a homegrown player able to wear the GS bib among so many internationals in SSN. 

Growing up as an admirer of ex-Diamond Caitlin Thwaites — in part for being forced to sit behind Caitlin Bassett. 

“For lots of years but every time she went on she was awesome and always proved herself,” Austin said. 

While finishing her Masters of Teaching online, the keen student of the game intended to build her craft and connections, enjoy the beaches and cafes with her electrician partner Jacob, and continue to strike the right balance between the fun times and the serious moments in elite netball. 

“I guessed a lot of kids but also adults loved that I was always smiling and looked like I was enjoying myself, so that was good feedback,’’ the popular South Australian said of the post-match interactions with fans. 

“But I was enjoying it. I loved it.’’