The Diamonds have shrugged off concerns surrounding their attack end heading into this week’s Commonwealth Games, where Australia is aiming to defend their gold medal.

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Sophie Dwyer and Sophie Garbin will make their Games’ debut when they take the court in Glasgow, alongside Georgie Horjus, while Cara Koenen played 2026 out at the more unfamiliar goal attack at club level – with only Kiera Austin going in with both form and experience.

Diamonds great Catherine Cox was concerned Melbourne’s Super Netball grand final defeat – where both Garbin and Austin headed to the bench, provided a “blueprint” to rivals looking to beat Australia.

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“I can’t help but sit here and think how many international teams are watching this grand final with interest – this is how you beat the Diamonds attack line,” she said during that grand final.

But Austin and fellow Diamonds teammate Courtney Bruce were confident the attack end would fire come game one against Tonga on Saturday.

“The wider public’s not privy to the other things that go into selection,” Bruce said, defending her Sunshine Coast Lightning teammate in Koenen.

“Obviously past performances, experience, all of that goes into selection too.

“Cara’s played a completely different position to what she’ll play in the Diamonds dress.

“I guess for me too, I played a lot more goal defence this season than I ever have. So I think it’s more just knowing that there’s a lot more that goes into selection and combinations and how things work out there that the general public aren’t privy to when it comes to selections.

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“We know what Cara can do in that shooter position and I think she’s just added another string to her bow in terms of the capacity that she can, if we needed to, run out of full game in goal attack.”

Koenen’s selection is eerily similar to that of Garbin at Australia’s 2023 Netball World Cup success, where the goaler endured a tough season playing out of position at goal attack for her club Collingwood Magpies before getting the call to represent Australia – as a goal shooter.

Garbin went on to dominate that World Cup campaign – and Bruce is confident Koenen can emulate those feats.

“I think it is exactly that same situation as Soph … we know what goes on in our inner sanctum and the performances that (Cara) puts out in training week in, week out, day in, day out.

“I 100% back Carzy to have an incredible tournament and absolutely rip up defenders with her movement in that goal shooter position.”

Austin said the versatility in Australia’s attack end would prove to be a strength given the tight game schedule.

“I’ve said to a lot of people SSN is a very, very different environment from what international netball is for a plethora of reasons,” she said.

Cara Koenen had to play out at goal attack for her Super Netball club Sunshine Coast.Source: Getty Images

“We don’t have timeouts, you have to be really going for 15 minutes. The concentration level is through the roof. The intensity is through the roof.

“There’s always different things going on in an SSN land. And there is a sense of fatigue that comes to an end of the season as well.

“But coming into a marquee event where we only get two marquee events every four years, there is a completely different sense of belief or sense of opportunity. You don’t want to let any opportunity go begging. You don’t want to wonder, oh, what if?

“I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily concerned (about the Vixens’ grand final day performance and what that could mean for Australia).

“We’re all so excited to go out there and to see what we can do as a completely different group to what our own individual SSN teams are. So, it’s absolutely a challenge, but one that we’re excited to take on.”

Austin could find herself sharing midcourt and attack end duties with the likes of Horjus, given the work she’s done previously in wing attack at big events.

Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin in attack for Australia against New Zealand.Source: Getty Images

Garbin and Koenen can now play at goal attack – as will Dwyer, Horjus and Austin.

“I think it is exciting that there is so many different combinations to put out there and we are practising all that in camp,” Austin shared.

“It’s such a short amount of time that we have, but we’re really deliberate and purposeful with our training sessions and we have been not throwing the bibs up but trying all those different combinations and I think that makes us really hard to prepare for because you might expect a certain line-up, but then there could be a completely different one put out there.

“Especially for a Comm Games event where you can’t bring in someone if there is an injury or whatever else, you have to be able to play different positions and do the role for your team.

“The versatility in our attack end will be a real strength of ours for sure.”

Australia will open their Commonwealth Games gold medal defence against Tonga on Saturday night.