Netball World Cup: all you need to know
On the eve of what could be the highlight of their careers, the Australian Diamonds are treading carefully, aware that being runaway World Cup favourites brings dangers that could thwart their claim for an 11th title.
After their team camp in Newcastle in which they "ironed out" their combinations, the star-studded Diamonds have begun their final preparations for the 13th World Cup, which starts on Friday at Sydney Olympic Park. 
It is the first time since 1991 that the most prestigious tournament in world netball has been held in Australia. Most pundits are tipping the Australians to be untouchable in the tournament after a 19-match winning streak and nine consecutive wins over arch-rival New Zealand. However, captain Laura Geitz warned the title of competition favourites could present obstacles.
"It's a bit dangerous," Geitz said. "Being in our own backyard, having so much support and with so much hype around the World Cup, it's important for us to not get too carried away and just understand that our performance out on court has to do all the talking. I suppose that we need to be able to put all that hype aside and understand that we've got some really tough opposition."
The two biggest competitors for the crown, England and New Zealand's Silver Ferns, have undergone rebuilding recently and feature new players and new structures. Geitz said that it made it difficult for the Australians to formulate their plans.
"They're a little bit unknown whereas we're much better known to our opponents," she said. "There's a lot of footage of us playing together whereas some of the teams have not so much. That, for us, is dangerous straight up. So we need to be able to understand - and we do 100 per cent understand - that this is going to be actually a really tough tournament for us.
"I think people think Australia's going to waltz in and waltz out and take the gold, but that's definitely not the case. There are going to be some huge challenges."
The Diamonds' first match is on Friday night against Trinidad & Tobago, just after the opening ceremony. They play Barbados the following day, before a preliminary round showdown with the Silver Ferns on Sunday. The qualification round matches begin next Tuesday.
"We're just keen to start to start playing now," said Geitz, the captain of the Queensland Firebirds, recent winners of the ANZ Championship. "Just the excitement now of being around the courts and seeing the other teams gets you itching to go.
"Everything's gone pretty much to plan in the lead-up. Being in our home states and training for the last few weeks, then all of a sudden coming together as a team, it takes a little while to get used to each other and the combinations. The first couple of days was just about getting familiar with each other. Heading in I thought we were probably a little bit rusty but leaving I thought we got everything ironed out as we wanted to."
New Zealand captain Casey Kopua said the new-look Kiwis would not take a backward step against Australia.
"You know they're good. They're the world champions and they're good at what they do," Kopua said of the Diamonds. "But certainly, when I go out on the court I'm telling myself I'm better than them."
The Silver Ferns recently omitted plenty of experience in Cathrine Latu, Liana Leota and Joline Henry. Their unpredictability could be an asset. "It was a part of the thinking, that we want to come here and try and win, not just to try and bridge the gap," Kopua said. "Why not take a risk and have some courage, rather than just be happy with the same-old."