TWO out of 13 is the Southern Downs connection in the Australian Diamonds team which starts training today for the Constellation Cup series against New Zealand and England next month.

Australian captain Laura Geitz hails from Allora and will be joined in the national team for the first time by former Warwick West State School student Clare McMeniman this week.

The pair arrived in Canberra yesterday for team meetings before three days of training at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Geitz will captain the team in its first cup game of the six-Test series in Invercargill on October 2. McMeniman and Rebecca Bulley will each play three Tests, McMeniman's in Auckland against the Silver Ferns and in Bendigo and Canberra against England.

After winning gold at the Commonwealth Games, Geitz said only thinking ahead to this series and not to the World Championships in Sydney next year.

"I don't want to get too far ahead of myself," she said.

Geitz is wary of England in the cup after Australia only beat them by one goal in the Commonwealth Games.

"England has a disappointing tournament and probably deserved to be in the grand final," Geitz said.

While Australia had a runaway win against New Zealand in the gold medal decider in the games at Glasgow, Geitz said it wasn't expected.

"They had a fair share of injuries but had enough depth to cover for the injured players," she said.

The games against New Zealand and England will be the first in Diamonds colours for McMeniman who narrowly missed selection in the team for Glasgow.