DONNELL Wallam made the most memorable of Test debuts, highlighted by a clutch last-second play in Australia's thrilling 55-54 victory over England in Newcastle on Wednesday night.
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Wallam put a controversial build-up behind her and netted the deciding goal on the run to break the deadlock, sending the sold-out Novocastrian crowd into raptures.
The third Indigenous player to don the green and gold in netball, Wallam produced a perfect display with eight goals from as many attempts after being brought off the bench midway through the last quarter.
It came after Wallam recently sparked a saga which ended with the withdrawal of $15 million in support for financially stricken Netball Australia from Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Wallam requested an exemption from wearing the company's logo because of shocking comments made by the mining giant's founder, the late Lang Hancock, in the 1980s in which he suggested the sterilisation of Aboriginals.
Aussie mid-courter Maddy Proud was adjudged player of the match with 34 feeds.
After an evenly contested opening quarter, in which Aussie goal defence Courtney Bruce produced multiple key plays, the scores was locked at 14-all.
England had the better of the second quarter, including five straight goals in the early stages for a 22-17 lead midway through the term.
However, Australia responded with a run of four goals in two minutes to trail by one at the main break (27-26).
The Diamonds opened and closed the third quarter with a flurry, most notably three straight goals in quick succession to break a deadlock and open a 42-39 advantage.
Wallam's injection midway during the fourth quarter also featured a goal while falling out of court as the Aussies managed to narrowly keep the tourists at bay.
Paige Hadley and Bruce were revealed as captain and vice-captain earlier on Wednesday.
Newcastle junior players took to the court at half-time while Novocastrian Sam Poolman, now retired from Super Netball, was front and centre as part of the broadcast on home soil.
There was plenty of green and gold being sported around a packed Newcastle Entertainment Centre with lots of children also waving homemade posters.
It was the first netball Test in Newcastle since the same two nations met in 2019.
An estimated 4300 people were in attendance.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
