ALLORA goalkeeper Laura Geitz will be rested but Clare McMeniman will carry the Southern Downs flag when the Australian Diamonds head to England for a three-Test tour in January.

McMeniman went to primary school at Warwick West but with Geitz rested the pair won't be able to be part of a defensive combination which goes back more than a decade.

Geitz and Kim Ravaillion, who made her international debut against England on the 2013 tour to England, have been rested for the tour while Erin Bell and Ash Brazill continue the rotations.

McMeniman played in last month's Australians win in the Constellation Cup against New Zealand.

Uncapped rising star Liz Watson has been selected in the team, which features six players from Australia's Netball World Cup-winning team, including Caitlin Bassett, Paige Hadley, Renae Ingles, Sharni Layton, Natalie Medhurst and Caitlin Thwaites.

Watson's selection continues the Diamonds' rejuvenation, which included the debuts of Gabi Simpson, Gretel Tippett, Ashleigh Brazill and Jo Weston during the recent Constellation Cup series, following key retirements of Julie Corletto, Kim Green and Rebecca Bulley after the World Cup.

"The national selectors and I feel that it's important to continue to create opportunities and elite international experience for all of our National Squad athletes in preparation for benchmark events such as the Commonwealth Games in 2018 at the Gold Coast,"

"We can benchmark against number 3 England,"