ONE of the few shining things to come from the Diamonds 3-1 defeat in the Constellation Cup was Sunday Aryang’s performance.

The versatile defender, who is a Midland resident, switched between wing defence and goal defence with aplomb and was one of the key reasons the Diamonds were able to finish the series on a high in Melbourne, grabbing four gains, four deflections, two intercepts and two rebounds in just 45 minutes of play.

With a new international cycle now in full swing, Aryang is firming as the defender Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich can build her side around.

The West Coast Fever player has dynamic athleticism, is adept on the body, dangerous in the air, has plenty of speed to burn and importantly she is a natural at wing defence, allowing more flexibility when it comes to defensive line-ups.

There will be plenty of changes to this Diamonds line-up by the time Sydney 2027 rolls around, but one thing is for sure, Sunday Aryang’s name will be locked in.

Another thing to note was Marinkovich’s fact-finding mission.

Obviously, Marinkovich sent her side out there to win, she would never do anything else.

But when faced with large deficits she turned to her bench, eager to try out new players and new combinations on one of netball’s biggest stages.

Casting an eye to the future, there are few series where Marinkovich can go fact-finding again before the Diamonds next marquee event, the Commonwealth Games arrives.

This means next year’s Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) campaign is a big one for any Diamonds hopefuls.

Speaking of next year’s SSN season there should be acknowledgement of the outrageous performances of NSW Swifts signing Grace Nweke.

The Silver Ferns shooter finished the series with 169 goals from 180 attempts (94 per cent) and was at times pretty much unplayable.

Negating Nweke will be the key to stopping New Zealand at future tournaments.

While defenders across the nation will naturally be dreading having to combat Nweke next season the silver lining to her presence on Australian shores next winter is they will be given a chance to figure out how to stop netball’s new number one.

If the Diamonds-studded glasses are taken off the last six weeks of international netball have been promising for the neutral fan.

The Diamonds defeated England, but the Roses stole a game off the world champions.

England then jumped across the ditch and knocked off the Silver Ferns, who have since snatched the Constellation Cup out of Australia’s grasp.

England will soon host Jamaica and international netball fans await that series eagerly.

While there is still no doubt who the best side in the world is (the Diamonds if you were wondering), the distance between them and the rest of the field is closing, and closing fast.

Georgie Horjus achieved her childhood dream last Sunday, when she stepped out onto the RAC Arena court for the first time as an Australian Diamond and if the reaction in the crowd, and online, is anything to go by she could soon be Australia’s favourite netballer.

Everyone from netball commentator and former Australian international netballer Cath Cox to your neighbourhood barista was bouncing off the walls with excitement when the Thunderbirds star was injected into the game and she took to it like a duck to water, finishing with 20 feeds and 12 centre pass receives from her 24 minutes of court time.