AUS:
Bueta was unstoppable last night but as we know Sterling can absolute shut her down and out and I back her to do it again tomorrow. Unless there are injuries as the rumors suspect SM must give Klau a go, Bruce has been an absolute mess the last two games with her attitude and is frazzled and throwing balls away. I suspect she will start Bruce but in that case start Aryang and give the known combo a chance to settle in and make an impact outside the circle. Our biggest concern is we actually do have depth across the court but a coach that doesn’t seem to know how to use it.
ENG:
Much better performance by the diamonds, but I do think the England team got a bit of a reality check last night. Lots of fire power in the shooting circle but nowhere near the skill or depth in midcourt or defence that is needed for them to be more successful. Who is Mentors replacement? EUB is not it and both would be near retirement. They lack a dominant C/WD, Clarke has always been a mainstay and she’s solid but she’s not a game-changer and she’s also near retirement. Malcolm needs to be developed as their WD and they need to find a C/WA backup asap for NWC.
NZ:
I think Taurua has done the best she can with the squad she’s got.
Unfortunately it seems too many of the players dominate against the NZ style (Souness, Nweke, Jury etc) but really struggle to translate that dominance to the national stage against other styles.
That’s the big difference between the players they had available and the caliber of Watson/Burger/Eke etc who weren’t available/fully fit.
The silver lining is you may very well have your next Laura Langman in Kate Heffernan who has been an absolute star for her debut tournament and will only continue to grow.
I’d be super excited for NWC with a backline of Watson/Burger/Heffernan.
JAM:
There’s something about this team and I think it’s theirs to lose at this point. Everyone focused heavily on the other three countries but Jamaica look the most collected as a unit that I’ve ever seen them and it’s paying off. Very little depth but a starting 7 you’d absolute back in for the game. I just can’t see Australia having the confidence in attack to play as freely as they did against the mentor/guscoth combo and it’ll work heavily in the sunshine girls favour.
As an Aussie I am more than ready for a Jaimaican gold medal, it’s time these tournaments were shaken up and less predictable and this Comm Games is hopefully just the start.
