Paige Hadley has experienced a rollercoaster of emotions over the past 24 hours – from managing her disappointment of missing out on this year's Super Netball finals, to celebrating selection in her first Commonwealth Games team.
The NSW Swifts co-captain and defending premiership player declared at the start of this year that her team was aiming to lift back-to-back trophies. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon, as Hadley and her teammates nervously sat together at a Sydney café, that dream was put to bed.
"Most of us were sat at a café and we couldn't decide whether to watch that final match or not," Hadley told the ABC.
Heading into the final round of the regular season, everyone was trying to do the maths, with four teams locked in a for-and-against battle for a semi-finals place.
The Melbourne Vixens, West Coast Fever and Giants had already secured their top-four finishes, while the Swifts, Adelaide Thunderbirds, Queensland Firebirds and Collingwood Magpies were all jostling for the final spot.
On Sunday, the Thunderbirds were ruled out of contention when they lost to the Fever (68-57), before the Swifts knocked the Firebirds out of the race with a narrow victory (63-61).
At this point, just 0.26 per cent separated the Magpies in fourth and the Swifts in fifth, leaving it up to the Melbourne derby on the Queen's birthday public holiday to determine who scraped through.
The Magpies needed to either beat the Vixens or lose by a margin of no more than three goals to retain fourth place.
At the final break, they trailed by seven, but a big fourth quarter saw them turn things around to lose the match by two (56-54) and keep their season alive.
The result was so close that it came down to the very last shot of the match, when Vixens goal shooter Mwai Kumwenda was unable to convert a two-point super shot in the dying seconds.
"That last shot from Kumwenda, if it had've dropped that would have been us in, so even though it shouldn't have come down to that, it was disappointing," Hadley said.
"There were lots of moments throughout this year where we played great netball, but we just didn't get the win and obviously every little win, and every goal, would have helped us in this circumstance.
"To know you're missing finals for the first time in three years, you do feel a bit numb, but given the context of the week we had in the lead up to our final match, the fact we even put ourselves in a position to contend is going to make us hungrier."
Hadley was referring to the COVID wave that swept through the Swifts' camp last week, ruling their coach, manager and two of their players out for the all-important clash.
The impact of losing their starting goal shooter — Trinidad and Tobago star Samantha Wallace — to an ACL injury in the first game of the season also had a lasting effect.
"Once we lost Sammy, our whole attack end had to change … you've got to be proud of the way we had to adapt and still matched it with the best, I think that new style of play is only going to be an asset for us once Sammy is back next year," she said.
Hadley selected in hotly contested Diamonds midcourt
Despite the Super Netball disappointment, Hadley said she feels grateful to have something to look forward to now she's been announced in the Australian netball team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Hadley made her debut for the Diamonds in 2013 at 21-years-old and represented Australia at the last two World Cups.
However, the Commonwealth Games has always been somewhat out of reach, after she suffered an ACL injury in 2014 and missed selection in 2018.
Now, not long before her 30th birthday, she'll finally tick off that long-awaited goal.
"We got the calls last Monday and it was mind-blowing for me to hear I made it ... that day is always tough because you've already been told ahead of time when you'll get the phone call and you're hoping for the best, but also preparing for the worst," she said.
"Although it hasn't fully sunk in yet, now the team is out there and all the rumours are done, we can finally enjoy it."
The makeup of the Diamonds midcourt has been a hot topic amongst pundits and fans for months, with so many great Australian players putting their hand up for selection.
Head coach Stacey Marinkovich has settled on the tried and tested Vixens duo of Liz Watson and Kate Moloney, cross-code Collingwood star Ash Brazill and super-driven utility Hadley.
Yet there are other players like Hadley's co-captain Maddy Proud who've had outstanding years and can count themselves unlucky for being overlooked.
Swifts defender Maddy Turner is another odd omission, considering her incredible form this season alongside selected goal keeper Sarah Klau.
Hadley revealed Marinkovich's calls were grouped in club order this time around:
"You spend so much time with your teammates, and you try to work for these things together, so it's a tough situation because you go back to the club the next day and people want to enjoy that moment with you, but you feel commiseration for others.
"That's why I think it hasn't sunk in just yet, because you're focused on keeping the team together before you can turn your attention to the next thing."
The Diamonds lost their gold-medal status at the last Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018. Now they're hoping to win it back, with England again looking like their biggest challenge.
The team will prepare together in camps in Perth and Manchester before the campaign begins on July 29, running through to August 7.
2022 Australian Diamonds Commonwealth Games Team
Shooters |
Midcourters |
Defenders |
Reserves |
|---|---|---|---|
Kiera Austin |
Ash Brazill |
Sunday Aryang |
Ruby Bakewell-Doran |
Gretel Bueta |
Paige Hadley |
Courtney Bruce |
Jamie Lee-Price |
Cara Koenen |
Kate Moloney |
Sarah Klau |
Donnell Wallam |
Steph Wood (VC) |
Liz Watson (C) |
Jo Weston |
