Hard-marking Australian netball coach Lisa Alexander has called on her side to lift it's defensive intensity or risk being ambushed by a resurgent England in the remaining two Tests of their UK tour.
The world champion Diamonds took the opening game in Liverpool on Wednesday night with a "far from perfect" performance, but Alexander warned a similar standard would not be enough to close out the series in the two London Tests, starting with game two on Friday (Saturday 0630 AEDT).
Central to her fears were occasionally erratic passing by the midcourt, which contributed to an alarming 22 turnovers for the match, and a monster shooting performance by Roses starlet Helen Housby.
The talented 21-year-old shot 31 from 33 attempts in a brilliant display, taking advantage of defensive misreads which afforded her too much space, Alexander explained.
The World Cup-winning mentor said it would be the responsibility of likely defensive starters for game two April Brandley, captain Clare McMeniman and Jo Weston, to eliminate Housby's opportunities.
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"We just need more pressure on her in general, just stopping her getting the ball for a start," Alexander told AAP.
"I think she handled it too much, we didn't have enough pressure up the court on her and not enough denying space and the ball.
"So April, Clare and Jo will have a look at that and they're the adjustments that we'll make."
Some sloppy turnovers were to be expected in the first Test of the season, but it made for uncomfortable viewing as Alexander reviewed the match on Thursday.
Despite not playing at the level which delivered a World Cup last year, Australia were still able to extend their lead through each of the first three quarters before withstanding an England surge in the fourth quarter.
A six-goal win would keep most coaches happy but Alexander insisted it was well below the perfection she demands of her team with plans to "iron out a few misunderstandings" at the captain's run on Friday.
"That last quarter we just let it slip through a bit of frantic play that was just not necessary at that time," she said.
"There are bits of the game that we'll really learn from. We had the lead out to eight goals and I think we should've pushed ahead with it.
"We made a couple of rookie errors (and) didn't really put the throttle down there and we allowed England back into it.
"Passing, execution is always an issue when you're starting out a Test series, to get that spot on.
"We're aiming for perfection so we know we've got to work on that."
