By Stephanie Smarrelli
For head coach of the Australian Diamonds Stacey Marinkovich, premiership-winning teams are defined by one thing.
“To win a premiership, it's an accumulation of moments,” Marinkovich said.
“They have to have the ability to understand what's happening in the game.
“You might not have a lot of turnovers but it's making sure you don't give one away at a critical time such as going into a break or as momentum shifts to the opposition.
“Defensively, you’ve got to be in the contest, you might not get balls straight away, but it'll be that accumulation of pressure that creates the moment to gain the ball.
“To win a premiership you need to be able to sustain that level of intensity across the game and have the ability to keep attacking with composure at the same time.”
While the standout moments often belong to a single player, Marinkovich highlighted that they are usually created by the efforts of those around them.
"There are lots of superstars within the different lineups but their moment comes because of what's created in front of them,” she said.
“Whether that’s defensively to create that chance to sight ball and intercept or the ball speed coming through the court in attack to get good continuity to the circle for the shooters.
“It’s also the intent to keep attacking the game and not go into protection mode.
“Once you see a team trying to protect a lead that's when other teams can see the game has shifted and they can really pounce.”
Reflecting on the Semi Finals, Marinkovich was particularly impressed by the intensity teams delivered from the get-go.
Marinkovich was impressed by how all teams started in the Semi Finals.
"The tenacity that came out, particularly in the first quarters of games, really impressed me,” Marinkovich said.
“The rivalries were really strong and the real focus the teams had was being able to withstand pressure.
"How teams adjusted and adapted to pressure is where the experience of teams came to life.
“It did with Fever and we saw the ability of Thunderbirds to sustain that performance over a longer period of time than the Vixens.”
Marinkovich also pointed to several coaching decisions that altered the course of the matches.
“The timing of the injection of Ruth Aryang into the Fever lineup, she was able to come on and have an immediate impact,” she said.
“It made the opposition start to think about what they were going to do to counter the manipulations of the combinations.
“Other changes were more backing in what teams have done in the past and understanding whether it was still the right time in the context of the game.
“You saw the stability of what the Thunderbirds have been doing all season in knowing what their strengths are and backing in the way they play.
“Then some changes happened to try to find a way to shift the game, some changes were expected and successful while other impacted in one way or another.”
While Aryang’s influence stood out in the Minor Semi Final, Marinkovich said Fever’s greatest strength was more than just one player.
Marinkovich highlighted how Aryang was able to impact the game when she came on.
"Ruth came on and had a great impact,” she said.
“You started to see her in full flight having come back from her injuries, but for Fever the standout was their collective intent.
"They really attacked the game, they went hard defensively and were running hard in attack.
“They had a steely focus, and their experience came through.”
The same theme was evident in the Major Semi Final.
“You saw the composure of Elmeré and the influence of the defensive end of Thunderbirds,” she said.
“Their defensive work in connection with each other but also their individual brilliance.”
Looking ahead to the Preliminary Final, Marinkovich identified several key battles that could determine the result.
"The battle's going to come between Jo Weston and Sasha Glasgow,” she said.
“Sasha is key to the connection to Romelda and whether Sasha’s composure in the circle can be influenced will be a deciding factor.
“Then there’s the wing attack and wing defence battle.
“Whether the Vixens’ wing attack can create the ball speed and the court balance to be able to get some really good momentum and connection, that will allow Kate Moloney to really drive hard in.
Marinkovich believes the wing attack position will be important for the Vixens this weekend.
“If the wing attack is held up, Fever will have created congestion and set up their box defence in that defensive third.”
That ability to establish defensive pressure early is one of the factors that makes finals netball different to the home-and-away season, according to Marinkovich.
"The game naturally starts in an attacking mode,” she said.
“You'll see a real stability across those attack lines, holding possession and making sure they're getting that supply to the shooters.
“The defenders have got to find the way to get hand on ball.
“Whether that's adjusting to umpires or adjusting their strategy and being able to attack and set their rhythm early.
“The key is to get ball early because as games go on sometimes, they can really tighten up and it becomes harder for defenders to impact.”
Navigating those pressure-filled moments is one of the reasons Marinkovich believes SSN continues to provide strong preparation for the international stage.
“SSN being the world's best competition is complimenting everybody that plays in the competition,” she said.
“Being able to compete in a high-pressure environment where the result is never decided until the final moments is extremely important.
“Games can change quickly, with momentum shifting back and forth.
“Because breaks and timeouts can interrupt the flow of the game, players need to be able to regain their rhythm, recognise when things are about to change, and react quickly to new situations.”
