Preparing for the opening Constellation Cup match, Australia's netball captain Caitlin Bassett knew there was one thing she couldn't avoid.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
More than two months after the heart-breaking World Cup final loss in Liverpool to New Zealand, Bassett finally watched a replay.
It wasn't her first choice of in-flight movie en route to Christchurch but Bassett said she needed to watch it before the first match in their four-Test series on Sunday.
"After the final we just packed the loss away in a place to deal with it later," Bassett said.
"But for our best preparation for this series I had to look at the last game we played and that was it."
While the outcome still hurt, what Bassett found was that they didn't play badly in the one-point defeat.
"There were a few simple errors - passing and connection errors," the goal shooter said.
"But you don't throw out everything because of one loss."
The Diamonds may have surrendered their status as world champions but have retained the world No.1 ranking and are desperate to keep a hold of the Constellation Cup.
The Australians have held the trans-Tasman trophy for the past six years and only lost it once since its inception in 2010.
Bassett said they wouldn't be content with just winning the Cup; they wanted to win all four games.
After Christchurch they play in Auckland on Wednesday night followed by matches in Sydney (Oct 20) and Perth (Oct 27).
There are four new players in the Australian squad with Ash Brazill and Tegan Phillip, who both haven't played a Test since 2016, joined by possible debutantes Maddy Turner and Laura Scherian.
Bassett was particularly excited about the inclusion of midcourter Scherian, her new roommate.
Aged 31, if Scherian gets on the court she will be as the oldest Diamonds debutant in history.
The pair played together for Australia at the world youth cup back in 2009 but while Bassett's career soared, Scherian's faded after just one limited season for the Queensland Firebirds.
After six years of rejection Scherian finally landed a contract with Lightning, where she has played the last three seasons under Noeline Taurua, who is coincidently the Silver Ferns coach.
Bassett and Scherian shared two Super Netball seasons at Sunshine Coast before the captain moved to GWS this season.
"She was the most under-rated player in the competition," Bassett said of Scherian.
"She's such a hard worker and a great teammate and it's a credit to her that she never gave up so I'm so happy for her.
"Because of her experience I don't think she will be over-awed if she gets to debut."
-AAP
