The crowd were ready early for the second last day of the tournament.

The NZ v England match had a lot of fire, in particular George and Sonia Mkoloma, who ended up in a mini pushing match mid court during the third quarter. New Zealand dominated and finished ahead by 15 goals.

The largely Australian crowd was already salivating towards the end of the match at the prospect of the Diamonds taking the court against the Sunshine Girls. After the previous days effort against Malawi, the fans wanted blood, sweat and tears pouring from their beloved Australian girls.

The Diamonds did not disappoint.

What had been missing all week was on show today, the Diamonds defensive duo of Fuhrman and Corletto were instrumental against the tall timber of Aiken and Fowler.

Australia had established an winning position at ¾ quarter time, affording Norma Plummer the luxury of giving the bench players some court time, bringing on Geitz, Pitman and Basset (Bell was substituted on the court with 5 mins to spare).

The final margin was 36 goals.

Despite the finals atmosphere, the action at the netball was almost surpassed tonight as an intimate group of 20-odd were hosted by Vicki Wilson at Vansh, an Indian inspired restaurant bar, in a private room discussing netball, both past and present.

Vicki invited 4 special guests to partake in the exclusive event;

• Jill McIntosh; former Australian netball head coach
• Dominique Harverson; former South African national representative
• Bronwyn Roberts; former Australian team Manager
• Julie Seymour; former New Zealand captain and national representative

Each special guest took turns fielding questions from Vicki and providing a unique, but more importantly, personable insight in their time at the elite level.

The Sportsnet group were privy to Dominique discussing Irene Van Dyk’s defection to New Zealand and the backlash the followed, Julie talking through her experience in the recent Christchurch earthquake, even Jill putting forward her strong views on how well the history of netball is promoted (or rather, not) in Australia.

No one was left hungry throughout the event, with an exquisite array of food continuously brought through the room including infused mushrooms, succulent spiced chicken and a delicious, melt in your mouth lamb. To wash it all down the group were served a selection of beers, wines and soft drinks.

To say the event was ‘exclusive’ is an understatement given the calibre of guests, as well as the informal discussions that played out, including the all-star 7 from the tournament that each special guest thought would be the ultimate team.

The event was simply… once in a lifetime.

The NWC Singapore Part III blog brings all of you readers out there there “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” function… are you all ready to be green with envy?!

Vicki Wilson hosted the Sportsnet exclusive brunch, held at the Marina Mandarin, Friday morning for 300 excited fans. A mountain of food awaited the group to tuck into, from salmon and omelettes, fruit, pastries, apple crumble and more…

But it was the special guest entertainment that the group was waiting for and Vicki Wilson did not disappoint, firstly introducing to the stage Cathy Smith, followed by Jan Searle and finally the coach of the 1983 world championship Australian team, Joyce Brown.

All three speakers provided a unique insight into netball history, in particular, the advances in training and recovery over such a short time as well as the importance of finding team balance all over the court.

The cheers reserved for the three esteemed netball representatives were nothing, however, compared to the rousing reception given to the Australian Netball Diamonds squad and support staff as the filed in one by one, led by captain Natalie von Bertouch.

Vicki then surprised the crowd by asking the Diamonds to line up on stage and introduce the team member to their left, at the same time explaining one unique thing that they have learnt about their teammate in Singapore.

This unique approach gave the Sportsnet group a personal insight into the team, learning that Cath Cox has a phobia of crowded lifts, Caitlin Bassett has a cupcake fetish and Nat von Bertouch likes a nap before each game but must set her alarm for 59 mins only.

Following the function the newly united Sportsnet groups, both 8 day pass holders and the newer 3 day pass holders, headed out to Singapore Indoor Stadium and watched the big 4 – England, New Zealand, Australia and Jamaica – all post comfortable victories over their opponents.

Australia’s opponent Malawi, dreamed of a miracle upset at times throughout the match, often proving to be a frustration to the Diamonds via their aggressive and aerobatic game style. Coach Norma Plummer gave the team a look only she can at quarter time and whilst never having the same 7 during any quarter, Australia’s experience held strong and they came home with a 14 goal win. Natalie Medhurst, on court at GA for 3 quarters, took home the MVP award for the match.

Tomorrow the group head back to a day of anticipated highlights as England attempt to cause an upset against New Zealand and Australia take on the Sunshine Girls; Jamaica.

Those lucky enough to jump on board prior to departing Australia will also follow the day’s netball with a private function hosted by none other than Sportsnet netball ambassador Vicki Wilson… tune in for further updates tomorrow.