Australian Diamonds netball coach Lisa Alexander believes that the sport needs wider recognition Down Under.

The Diamonds were named as the team of the year in the Women's Sports Awards in Sydney last night, but Alexander believes that there is still a long way to go.

"It's very gratifying for the girls actually," stuff.co.nz quotes Alexander as saying. "The public recognition of their hard work is what I appreciate - that the public understand it's not a flash in the pan. They have worked hard on this for a long time. It's not a fluke.

"It's a great acknowledgement in our landscape because, compared to [New Zealand] where netball is very well supported, in Australia it's still not quite there so to get that public recognition is wonderful."

The Diamonds have an eight-test winning run over their New Zealand rivals Silver Ferns.