Australia has held off a spirited England challenge to comfortably win the first Test 70-57 in Adelaide on Thursday night.
The Roses trailed throughout the game and did provide Australia with some nervous moments early in the final quarter when they reduced the Diamonds' lead to five goals.
But the Diamonds stepped up to resist the England fightback and open the three-Test series with a victory.
Goal shooter Sophie Garbin was superb for the Diamonds, landing 46 of 48 attempts.
Kiera Austin added 24 from 26, while also producing 25 goal assists for the hosts.
But it was Australia's defence, particularly goal keeper Sarah Klau who proved to be the most troublesome for England.
Klau finished as the player of the match with four gains, two intercepts, four pick-ups and six deflections.
Sarah Klau (left) got through a mountain of defensive work for the Diamonds to be named player of the match. (Getty Images: Mark Brake)
The Roses made a total 18 changes to their line-up throughout the game to get everyone on court and kept rotating through fresh legs.
This saw England trial three different goal shooters in a direct match-up against Klau.
In comparison, the Diamonds made just eight changes overall.
In the remaining five minutes Klau was replaced by 27-year-old debutant Rudi Ellis, who was presented her green and gold dress the night before by former Australian captain Michelle den Dekker.
Den Dekker is Diamond number 92, while Ellis has now become number 192.
Although England had the better accuracy overall at 98 per cent, with Helen Housby (26 from 26) and Liv Tchine (20 from 20) topping the score sheet for the Roses, it struggled to feed the ball into the shooting circle from the midcourt.
England head coach Jess Thirlby said it was "tricky" to describe the match and the Roses were "unsure" how to reflect on it, because there were patches were she was happy with her team's fightback.
But Thirlby was disappointed the final margin crept out to 13 goals.
"We spilled too much ball, Sarah Klau had a strong game in the first half and we weren't smart enough sending the ball into her," she said.
"We fell short in attack and the workload wasn't high enough.
"As the game went on we did find a way to isolate her more and with Olivia Tchine coming on the feeds started to go in with more confidence."
Australia's Sophie Garbin (right) competes with England's Razia Quashie for the ball. (Getty Images: Mark Brake)
Self-doubt has been a common theme for the Roses when they play the world number one-ranked team and it seems it was an issue for the visitors once again.
"I don't think there's anything there that we hadn't planned for, there were no real surprises from what we expected from the Diamonds and I think that's why it's so frustrating," Thirlby said.
"From half-time onwards we demanded that we close the gap and we were really pleased that the line-up we put out in that third quarter — against a relatively unchanged Diamonds team — managed to find a way to win that period.
"But we had an opportunity to bring it back to four in that last quarter with a decent amount of time on the clock, so that's the question that we've now asked ourselves, 'Was our intention to take the game or not?'.
"I think that's the shift we need to see within ourselves, there's no excuse to lose by that margin."
England's new wing attack, goal attack swing Lois Pearson also made her debut in Adelaide, the night before her 25th birthday.
Pearson spent time at both her favoured positions and Thilrby said she believed she ended up being one of their most consistent performers in the game with 13 goal assists, 19 feeds and 18 centre-pass receives.
Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich said it was good to finally get her side back on court after an eight-month break between games and she was proud of the team's effort.
"It feels like it's been forever," Marinkovich told a post-match media conference.
"To get 70 goals in a game, that means the ball is moving fast and we're obviously getting enough supply.
"We're not just relying on individuals to get ball, we didn't have to use our foot speed the whole time because the structure was good with the ball speed and the angles."
Reflecting on a challenging third quarter, Marinkovich was relieved to see the Diamonds work it out and swing momentum back in their favour.
"There's a couple of times we've played England where they've come out hard in the third quarter and I think they showed more of a physical presence and we just became a little bit stagnant," she said.
"We needed to get off the body a bit earlier, use each other instead of going a bit insular and same with our defence, I think we started to hone in on one rather than keeping our vision up.
"But the pleasing thing is the players turned it around in the fourth quarter.
"They haven't played with each other in a while and we've got to remember there's no timeouts in international netball, as opposed to Super Netball.
"When you can feel the momentum shifting that would be a timeout usually for the players, so they've got to get used to the ebbs and flows again."
Commenting on the rise of Ellis, who was not given a Diamonds contract and was only invited into camp recently to earn a debut on Thursday night, Marinkovich said she had been impressive in the build-up to the Test.
"That’s the thing, Super Netball gives you an invitation into the Diamonds and then once you come in, what do you do with that opportunity?" she said.
"Rudi has great athleticism and can get up in the air, we've seen in camp that she’s been able to connect [with her teammates].
"She’s green and still evolving, but she had a presence and is learning every time she steps out as well."
In a re-match of last year's World Cup final, the Diamonds established their dominance early when they built a 17-12 lead by quarter-time.
They lifted another gear in the second term to reach half-time 37-26 ahead on the scoreboard.
Thirlby made changes to her line-up at the beginning of the third quarter and the move had the desired effect.
England outscored the Diamonds 18-15 in the third term to cut the world champions' lead to eight goals at the final break, 52-44.
The visitors edged closer on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, but Australia answered the challenge to repel the world number three.
The second Test will be played in Sydney on Sunday afternoon.
Look back at how the action unfolded in our blog.
We'll finish the blog there. Thanks for your company tonight and make sure you check back here for our game analysis which we'll add to the top of the page once we've heard from both of the captains and coaches. Catch you in Sydney in a few days time!
Oh and just in case you were wondering, here's the final stats sheet as per Champion Data. As you can see, the Diamonds were far too good defensively for the Roses tonight.
She only saw five minutes of game-time, but the smile from ear to ear was clear to see on the defender's face.
"It's just so exciting, what dreams are made of," Ellis told Fox Netball.
"Getting to take the court with the Diamond girls is amazing. I was so fortunate to be given my dress last night by former Australian captain and Diamond #92 Michelle den Dekker. I've sort of had her along my journey in netball, she was an amazing Diamond herself so I'm very grateful. She told me to take hold of every opportunity out there. I almost cried, it was so special."
Asked about her meteoric rise in netball of late, going from a player struggling to get on court to starting the Super Netball finals matches for the Vixens in goal keeper, Ellis said a move to the Melbourne club has helped unlock a new level of her game.
"It's just been such a positive environment at the Vixens and putting in the extra work footwork-wise has definitely helped too."
Perhaps the most wholesome part of Housby's interview was when she was asked what she's most looking forward to about the next game in Sydney, where she lives as a member of the NSW Swifts set-up. Aww!
"I just want to go see my cat, I haven't seen Roger for a long time."
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Housby was also asked about Eleanor Cardwell and why the 71-capped, superstar shooter started the game but only got 15 minutes on court - scoring 7/7 attempts - before being subbed off. Something to keep an eye on for game two we think.
"It was just another change, most people in Super Netball know her knee has been an ongoing [issue] but she's here and ready to play. I still thought she was brilliant."
England Roses shooter Helen Housby was interviewed by host broadcaster Fox Netball and said she was still happy with elements of the hit-out, despite the 13-goal loss.
Looking ahead to game two, she said the Roses needed to treasure possession. They did shoot at 98 per cent accuracy but struggled to get the ball into the shooting circle at points.
"We need to be a bit safer with the ball in our attacking end, I think we could be a bit tidier in and around the circle. I think we need to find ways to win ball quicker because it is hard to win ball of Sophie and Kiera. It's all about getting used to this level for a lot of the girls who are still relatively new to the Roses set-up. We did see Liv Tchine and Lois Pearson get on and get some valuable experience, I thought they did well."
The starting Aussie goal keeper gets Player of the Match honours against England. Sarah Klau is the third-most experienced player in the line-up and her tenacious defence helped the Diamonds put the pressure on the Roses from the first whistle tonight. A standout for sure with four gains, two intercepts, four pick-ups and six deflections in her 54 minutes on court.
The Diamonds have continued their dominance against old foes England, getting off to a great start in the first of a three-match series. They get the job done by 13 goals playing in Adelaide for the first time in seven long years.
The contest will now head to Sydney for game two on Sunday.
Just over a minute to go and a big long goal assist there from goal defence Tilly Garrett has pleased the crowd. Garrett sighted the Aussie shooters open and let the ball fly in long and high from where she was standing in the middle third on the transverse line.
Rangey defender Rudi Ellis has been injected in the final five minutes of the game to become Diamond #192.
At 190cm tall, the 27-year-old wasn't even offered a national contract this year and was only added to the squad last-minute. But after a stellar Super Netball season with the runners-up, the Melbourne Vixens, it is now her time to shine. No doubt the injuries to Courtney Bruce and Jo Weston has created this opportunity for Ellis.
Her long limbs and height are a great advantage.
Wouldn't it be great if she could get her hands to ball.
Adelaide fans may be sad they didn't get to see Georgie Horjus debut at home tonight, but their mood has lifted seeing her face pop up on the big screen. She's sitting in the crowd next to fellow Aussie squad member and midcourter Amy Parmenter.
Every single one of the Roses game-day squad has got minutes on court. Look at the difference in the substitution list between the teams! England trying to spark momentum with fresh legs and Australia mostly backing in their starting players.
Austin misses her first shot at goal coming back from the break.
Then Watson drops it cold. An uncharacteristic move from the skipper two minutes into the final quarter as the umpire calls a replay and England close the gap to five.
SCORE: 52-47
Heading out for the final quarter we hear from Liz Watson in the Australian huddle.
"Guys we're playing here like we're trying to protect the lead but we're in control."
Interesting, it seems the Diamonds may be a little rattled.
Is momentum turning here?
The Roses go three in a row as Tchine slots another.
There was a mistake from the umpire, who ruled it as an England throw-in on the baseline, even though the ball came off Fadoju last. But you make your own luck in netball and the Roses are running with it.
Australia manage to convert their next centre pass and England follow suit. That means they've now scored four of the last five goals to round out this third quarter and win the period of play (18-15).
The margin got out to as many as 13 goals in this quarter but all of a sudden the game is now back within eight goals.
Can the Diamonds get back to their typical clinical play for the last 15 minutes or will the Roses come from behind to upset the hosts?
More stagnancy in attack from the Roses. That's their second held ball call for the game, with three seconds ticking over.
The good news (if you're a Roses fan) is Sophie Garbin has missed her first attempt at goal, Williams is on the rebound and the Roses do eventually finish what they started in this passage of play with a goal.
SCORE: Australia lead 51-41
Adelaide Thunderbirds defender Matilda Garrett enjoys the home crowd support as she is given a warm greeting by fans, entering the court just after the eight-minute mark at GD.
It's Australia's first change in personnel this match and this is the 26-year-old's fourth international cap.
Fran Williams, Imogen Allison and Funmi Fadoju each get a touch on the ball respectively as they combine midway through the third quarter to win back some possession. England convert their efforts.
SCORE: Australia lead 45-34
Well something needed to change and it's come in the form of substitutions. Heading out for the third quarter the Roses are trialling their fourth shooter for the game.
Injecting Olivia Tchine into the GS bib, shifting Housby back to GA and Pearson to WA. Cardwell remains on the bench.
Fran Williams is back on court, this time at GK.
They've also made some midcourt, pushing Imogen Allison to WD and giving Amy Carter a run at C in her first place. It is Tchine and Carter's first minutes in the game.
Champion Data's important numbers to note at the main break.
Here, we can see the Diamonds are winning double the amount of ball in defence as the Roses and the majority of it is clean ball through intercepts. Of the many list of things England needs to fix for this upcoming second half is their penalty count. They will need to adjust to ensure they can stay in play and contribute to the game. As well as aiming to treasure the ball and lower their turnovers.
Not pictured here is the shooting accuracy. It's pretty similar so far, with the Aussies at 98 per cent and England at 97. Neither Sophie Garbin, Helen Housby or Eleanor Cardwell have missed a shot.
Once again Kiera Austin is the last to score in the quarter, as the Diamonds head to the half-time break in front by 11 goals.
England are going to need to find a bit of inspiration, because right now the contest is not living up to the hype of 1 vs 3 in the world. The Diamonds have been super clinical and their defence continues to make the visitors think.
As exciting as it is to see Lois Pearson on court, it is not good news that a player of the calibre of Eleanor Cardwell - one of their most experienced shooters - is on the bench. Perhaps the England coach made the call because the Roses kept fumbling the feed, but it felt like the problem was actually in the midcourt in front of her. Not in the circle.
Tell us, what would you do at half-time if you were Jess Thirlby?
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