Netball: Australia Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander's record tenure comes to an end

Lisa Alexander. Photo / Photosport

Australian Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander has admitted she's shocked over the decision that Netball Australia will not be renewing her contract.

Alexander, who has coached the side for more than eight years, will officially step down as coach of the Diamonds after the bushfire relief charity match in Sydney on March 1.

Under Alexander's watch, the Diamonds have been one of Australia's most successful national teams but last year they lost the World Cup title for the first time in 16 years and also failed to get gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Although aware Netball Australia were in talks over her future, she said she wasn't expecting the news.

"I was pretty confident, particularly with the win in the Constellation Cup, that it would be possible to seek an extension of the contract but obviously the board thought differently to that," she told Radio Sport.

"This is the thing that's hard with coaching, you've got to be creating the next group of athletes for the next event as well at the same tie as winning ... I was excited by the group and the talent we had and that was on display in the Constellation Cup.

"It was looking quite good for the future but obviously I'm disappointed that the board haven't seen fit to renew my contract and they've made the decision to go in a different direction. At the end of that day, that's their decision to make."

Netball Australia CEO Marne Fechner praised Alexander's time with the team but said there was an "appetite for change".

"Lisa has had a significant impact on our sport and achieved great things in her time, both on and off the court. She is leaving a great legacy," Fechner said in a statement.

"As we looked to the next high-performance cycle and beyond, there was a consensus and appetite for change heading into 2021.

"The high-performance landscape is ever-changing and increasingly competitive and we believe it's in the best interest of the program to open up the role."

Netball Australia will begin their search for the next coach early next month.