Australia have reclaimed all three pieces of silverware that went missing from their trophy cabinet during the last four-year cycle — the Commonwealth Games gold medal, Constellation Cup trophy and now the Netball World Cup crown.

The side clinched their 12th title to "finish business" as they smashed England 61-45 to take back the cup with their largest World Cup final victory in 28 years.

Australia on Thursday suffered their first-ever defeat to the Roses at a World Cup in the preliminary stages, going down 56-55, but England were unable to make it two historic wins in four days as they lacked tenacity and ran out of steam.

With a margin of 16 goals, the Diamonds ended up just four shy of their 20-goal victory against South Africa back in 1995.

Kiera Austin claimed MVP status in the decider (15 goals at 88 per cent), but it was the emotional storylines of Collingwood stars Ash Brazill and Sophie Garbin that pulled at the heartstrings of Diamonds fans as the pair made the most of a horrid year in which their Super Netball team decided it would not continue next season.

Cross-code AFLW star Brazill had already settled on the idea of retirement long before that announcement, making this game in Cape Town the last of her career.

But for Garbin and Collingwood head coach Nicole Richardson, the assistant at the Diamonds, their livelihoods and future in the sport are very much up in the air.

Garbin's Super Netball form had been patchy and her World Cup selection was under threat, as the Pies slumped to the bottom of the ladder, struggling to attract crowds and ultimately finishing the season with the wooden spoon.

Despite this, Garbin's previous efforts for the green and gold were enough for Diamonds head coach Stacey Marinkovich to keep the faith and the shooter made the final cut for the top-12 players headed to the major tournament.

Not only has the shooter been fighting to prove her doubters wrong at this World Cup, but she has also been fighting for a 2024 Super Netball contract, hoping another club will be eager to pick her up if she performs.

In the preliminary stages, Garbin was given ample opportunity and stood up against lower-ranked countries, leading the Diamonds' shooting tally with 188 goals at 91 per cent across their first five matches.

But she was left sitting on the bench for the tougher battles against England and later Jamaica in the semifinal, which Australia went on to win 57-54.

Pundits speculated Marinkovich might have even held her back in these games to use as something of a trump card if the Diamonds made the decider.

Her incredible hold under the post and ability to make an impact as a super sub was thought likely to be required at some point throughout the 60 minutes.

The first quarter of the final was incredibly tight, with both teams tied at 13-all at the break. The second quarter started in similar fashion, until Marinkovich injected Garbin into the game almost midway through.

From there, she never looked back, linking up with her old Swifts teammate Paige Hadley in centre to collect some rocket feeds and start slotting in the goals.

Three minutes after Garbin came on off the bench, Austin followed into goal attack to run a completely different shooting combo than the Diamonds' regular starters of Cara Koenen and Steph Wood.

At half-time these changes helped Australia go up by four goals 27-23, and when the game restarted after the main break that lead continued to grow.

It certainly was not a perfect performance, with Garbin missing six shots from right underneath the post, but her hold was at its peak, making it easy for the midcourters and Austin to sight her nice and early.

England struggled to adapt and went searching for answers as they rotated through their squad to try to find a way to shut down Garbin and the rest of the attack.

Ultimately, they never did find those answers, and Garbin went on to become the highest-scoring player of the game, with 27 goals in 38 minutes at 82 per cent.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Diamonds were in front by 10 goals and managed to prevent the Roses from reaching double digits in those last 15 minutes (15-9) to enjoy a comfortable victory as the clock wound down and soak up the atmosphere.

Brazill goes out smiling

Brazill herself was seen celebrating in the final minute while play was still live and had to be reminded by her teammates that there was still one more centre pass to play.