ANNETT Daley, the head coach of Jamaica’s Under-21 team, is urging her players to give it their all when they face mighty Australia in the quarter-finals of the World Netball Youth Cup (WNYC). The match is scheduled to begin this morning at 10:00 (Jamaica time) at the Europa Sports Complex in Gibraltar.

The young Sunshine Girls will need to bring their A-game to take on the Australians who have been impressive in the tournament so far. With Australia topping Pool B and Jamaica finishing second in Pool C, the matchup promises to be an exciting clash between two talented teams.

Daley emphasised the importance of playing with determination and effectively executing their plans.

“Playing against Australia, my expectation is for them [the Jamaican players] to go out there and play very hard. It is not going to be easy; we knew that the further that we go into the competition, the harder it’s going to get,” Daley told the Jamaica Observer.

“The game is about basic catching, passing, and driving; do the basic things right and then leave the results to what it turns out to be in the end. At this point in time I am just asking them to execute and work hard,” she noted.

Australia have been a dominant force in the tournament, winning four out of the eight WNYC titles while being runners-up on three occasions. Their victories came in 1988, 1996, 2000, and 2009. Jamaica, however, have shown promise in recent years, finishing second in the tournament in 2000 and third in 2009 and 2013.

Daley stressed the importance of not being intimidated by their opponents.

“I want them to believe that they have the ability to win every match that they are a part of. So I don’t want them to go into the game playing a name, because once you enter the game playing a name you would have defeated yourself,” the Jamaica coach explained.

“Enter the game as a game from the beginning. You are going to work hard, you are going to execute the basic skill set, and then at the end of it we will see what the result is,” she continued.

While the Australians are undefeated, the Sunshine Girls are coming off a tough 33-64 loss to England at the Tercentenary Sports Hall on Wednesday. Jamaica struggled throughout the match, trailing 9-18, 17-36, and 27-46 in the first three quarters, to ultimately fall short by 31 points.

“[There were] too many basic errors from the girls,” Daley noted. “It was important that we did the basic things right, and most of our turnovers came from the basic things of the game that we didn’t execute right. I think the nerves set in… initially, although they brought back the game to 12-8 at one point in time. It showed that it could be done, but it was a tough one and I just have to give England the credit as they took away the middle from us and we really didn’t punch through the way we ought to [have].

“The third quarter, however, showed that they could play this game. We had multiple opportunities to advance but, again, some of those little errors crept in. So it’s the belief in the ability, knowing that you can really do it… they should just trust themselves. That’s the part of it — trust your ability because you can do it,” she said.

Jamaica’s Azara WiIlmott catches the ball in the game against England during the 2025 World Netball Youth Cup match at Tercentenary Sports Hall in Gibraltar on Wednesday.(Photos: Collin Reid courtesy of KFC and SVL)