Super Netball round seven: West Coast Fever take care of Lightning but Adelaide emerge as challenger
The West Coast Fever stay on top, but the Thunderbirds shape as a major challenger with another impressive win. Catch up with all the round seven Super Netball action.
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West Coast Fever confirmed their yardstick standing and put a dent in the Lightning’s finals hopes on Sunday, but the Adelaide Thunderbirds are nipping at their heels.
Catch up with all the round seven Super Netball action.
Thunderbirds the real deal as title threat
-Warren Partland
There are no more excuses for the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
They have the team to claim Super Netball supremacy, as evident by their 52-47 win over the Collingwood Magpies in Adelaide on Sunday to back up the victory over reigning champions West Coast Fever last week.
Not since 2013 when they won their second trans-Tasman crown have the Thunderbirds tasted finals action.
But the 10-year drought is surely set to end, being 10 points clear of fifth-placed Sunshine Coast Lightning at the halfway point after just one loss.
The Thunderbirds have the world’s leading goal keeper in Shamera Sterling, who started against the Magpies alongside new Diamonds squad member Matilda Garrett and fellow Jamaican Latanya Wilson.
At the other end of the court, Eleanor Cardwell will be the starting shooter for England after Jo Harten’s decision to retire from international duties.
Then there is centre and skipper Hannah Petty, who has captained the nation’s youth team.
There is quality all over the court and every reason the Thunderbirds, who are responding to Tania Obst’s coaching, can finally return to those glory days.
ON THE DEFENCE
The early signs were ugly for the Magpies, who lost highly experienced Ash Brazill before the game due to illness, coughing up their opening two possessions to the brilliant Thunderbirds defence.
Firstly, Wilson grabbed an intercept to shut down the visitors’ opening drive. Then Sterling did what Sterling does and grabbed an intercept. There were even headaches for the Magpies on their third possession. Sterling was able to deflect the ball out of court, only for the Magpies to finally get the goal courtesy of Sophie Garbin.
The Magpies then called a time out, and not even three minutes had expired on the clock.
ON THE ATTACK
The issues the Magpies’ attack end was having with the Thunderbirds’ defensive work prompted Kelly Singleton to be introduced at goal attack after 12 minutes.
The Thunderbirds altered their midcourt five minutes into the second quarter when Petty was replaced by Tayla Williams.
Another six minutes into the contest, the home side switched Cardwell to goal attack to allow Lucy Austin to come into the game at goal shooter. The Thunderbirds reverted to their starting goal circle combination for the third quarter, only to bench Cardwell six minutes into the period and bring Austin back into the contest. Then Cardwell came back to replace Dwan. Stand out Penalties were a massive problem for the Magpies and too often players were forced to stand out of play.
The Magpies amassed a whopping 72 penalties for the 60 minutes. They were penalised an incredible 48 times in the first half with wing defence Maddie Hinchliffe guilty of 15.
Magpies goal keeper Geva Mentor earned 14 in front of England coach Jess Thirlby, in the house as preparation for the World Cup in South Africa starting in July. She got to witness Mentor go head-to-head with Cardwell in the battle of the Roses.
Flying Fever see off Lightning
-Katrina Nissen
Despite jetting more than 25,000km since Round 4, West Coast Fever have shown why they are back-to-back Super Netball premiership contenders. In overcoming Sunshine Coast Lightning by 10 points, Fever have now made it hard for the Queenslanders to keep in touch with the top four.
Fever coach Dan Ryan acknowledged that his side was fatigued after clocking up so much air travel. He said, “It’s even more praising the efforts of the players to have gotten through the load they have over the past four weeks.
“We saw the fatigue creep up last week (against the Thunderbirds).”
The match started at a frenetic pace with both teams going goal for goal. Eventually, West Coast’s smothering defence caused the first break. Once the gates opened, the momentum swung all Fever’s way, and they quickly piled on a first term, eight-goal lead.
Lightning’s trusty ball winner, Karla Pretorius was kept unusually quiet by Sasha Glasgow who outpaced and outsmarted the experienced South African.
Fever’s Alice Teague-Neeld continued to show why she is the league’s most in-form wing attack. She stormed her way to 37 feeds and 30 centre receives for the match. Match MVP Jess Anstiss flew under the radar but notched up defensive and attacking stats while sending Annie Miller to the bench.
During a time out, Fever’s coach Dan Ryan called for an aggressive mindset to go along with a changed line-up. He went for a more defensive on-court team who immediately paid dividends, keeping Lightning’s centre pass to goal rate at a disappointing 65 per cent for the first half.
Conversely, Fever maintained a formidable 91 per cent across the match. Ryan praised the effort, describing last week’s conversion rate as ‘awful’.
With an incredibly low 19 turnovers between both teams, Lightning defenders found it extremely difficult to crack Fever’s lead. However, in a captain’s run, Steph Wood kept her side in touch by sinking seven super shots.
Lightning carried the momentum into the final term and could have crumbled when Eagland went down with a knee injury. However, they maintained composure to mount a brave fightback but had too large a margin to claw back, as Fever continued to punish on the scoreboard.
Speaking post match, Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds said that maintaining focus when players go down is hard, particularly when it is a suspected knee injury.
“Obviously, we have had a few ACL injuries in our camp so it hits home hard for some of our players. We will all get around Shannon and hope for the best.”
Fever captain Courtney Bruce was a standout for her team, applying intense pressure over every shot and collecting two rebounds and two intercepts for the match. Jhaniele Fowler also put together a massive haul, shooting a perfect 65 goals from as many attempts.
DIAMOND DOUBLE
It was an all-Diamonds squad affair at one end of the court as Lightning’s Cara Koenen and Steph Wood went head-to-head with Courtney Bruce and Sunday Aryang. The quartet have all but secured their spots on the plane to Cape Town, with the only question mark over Aryang who will be fighting for supremacy over Firebird Ruby Bakewell-Doran and Thunderbird Matilda Garrett.
THE YIELD OF TEAGUE-NEELD
26 year old Alice Teague-Neeld is having the best season of her career and convincingly leads the league for centre pass receives and goals assists – two stats usually held by Aussie captain, Liz Watson. Given her stellar form it is surprising that Teague-Neeld wasn’t named in the recently announced Aussie Diamonds squad. Could we expect her to be a late call-up by the end of the season?
Controversial calls hand Swifts win in NSW derby
– Kate Allman
Two controversial calls in the final moments of Saturday’s Super Netball Sydney derby have handed the NSW Swifts a 64-67 win over heartbroken Giants.
The Swifts were just one point ahead with two minutes on the clock at Ken Rosewall Arena, when Giants mid-courter Maddie Hay caught a fingertip steal that could have given her team a crucial goal with the Swifts due to take the next centre pass.
But the umpire called contact and handed possession back to the Swifts, who converted to take a two-point lead.
Boos rung out through the 7,000-strong Sydney crowd when moments later, a second call in a similar scenario went the way of the red dresses, leaving a frustrated Hay shaking her head. From there, the Swifts clung onto possession for the win.
“I felt some of the calls in the final quarter could have gone either way. It’s disappointing to come out on the wrong side of those calls in a game that is goal-for-goal, that alters the result,” said Giants captain Jo Harten after the siren.
“At this level, things are 50-50 and calls can go either way,” said Swifts coach Briony Akle.
“It’s a local derby, it’s always going to be physical, both teams desperately want to win. I thought it was a really good, tough game of netball.”
DOOMSDAY FOR THE GIANTS?
The Giants swapped out their usual orange uniform to wear charcoal dresses for the round seven clash – a fitting colour to mark a mournful fifth loss in their disappointing season.
Despite multiple momentum swings, the Giants looked in control in the final quarter and watched the game slip away in the dying seconds.
Diamonds trio Hadley, Klau and Proud, who were announced as part of the Australian World Cup squad this week, won the battle of the midcourt for the Swifts. They dominated their Australian teammates and Giants counterparts Price, Parmenter and Dwyer.
It bodes badly for the Giants at the midpoint of the Super Netball season, who despite a handful of close finishes have only recorded two wins and sit in equal second from the bottom of the ladder.
“We have to learn to win again. Having that confidence to finish at the end when it gets really tight,” said Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald.
A ROSE BEHIND ENEMY LINES
England Roses head coach Jess Thirlby was seated conspicuously on the sideline to enjoy the Saturday night blockbuster.
Her plane ticket was likely booked before Monday, when Roses veteran Jo Harten declared she would retire from international netball – a decision many attribute to the niggling knee injury she has nursed since having surgery in pre-season.
With only one shooter to observe for potential England World Cup selection on court – the Swifts’ Helen Housby – attention now turns to Thirlby’s likely attendance at Sunday’s match between the West Coast Fever and Sunshine Coast Lightning. Fever’s shooter Sasha Glasgow is still a chance to go to South Africa wearing England red, after missing out on Diamonds’ selection this week.
Vixens come home strong to defeat the Firebirds
– Jenny Sinclair
The Melbourne Vixens arrested a mid-season slump following a convincing 12 point win over Super Netball’s current wooden spooners. In danger of having their 2023 season derailed after consecutive away losses, the Vixens got out of jail after trailing for a chunk of the match.
Speaking after the match, Vixens‘ coach Simone McKinnis rued her side’s slow start, describing it as stagnant and one-dimensional.
“It was a reminder that if you want to get back into this game, and back onto the winner’s list, you have to do what you have to do.
“There is no easy way.”
She went on to describe the victory, after a series of close games, as a springboard to the rest of the Vixens‘ season.
The Melbourne side lacked confidence early on, but a 45 point second half showed the dominance that took them to last year’s grand final.
Both sides started with different line-ups than usual. Vixens were forced into change due to an injury to wing defence Kate Eddy, while Firebirds rewarded the seven who masterminded last week’s inaugural win of the season.
The Firebirds’ strategy was simple – a quickly released high ball to find Donnell Wallam under the post. Despite being regularly double-teamed, the Diamonds’ squad member was mostly up to the challenge. She finished as the highest scorer on court with 51/53 at 91 per cent accuracy.
However, the Vixens’ short, patient approach also paid dividends, as they snuck out to a narrow lead by the end of the first.
The second quarter saw a change in form, as Firebird defender Ruby Bakewell-Doran stuck to Kiera Austin like superglue. The Vixens’ inability to find Austin caused havoc, restricting them to 10 goals while the Firebirds banged on 17.
Down by five goals at half time, the Vixens shuffled their deck. They brought Hannah Mundy on at wing attack, pushed the rest of the team back a position, and sent Em Mannix to the bench.
Liv Lewis started to find her timing during the second half, despite a clumsy challenge that benched Macy Gardner with a wrist injury. The goal keeper swung momentum back in Vixens’ favour after she picked off one intercept and four rebounds on her way to a MVP performance.
Vixens’ co-captain Liz Watson made a strong return to form, directing traffic for her side. Playing at both wing attack and centre, she recorded 33 goal assists and 49 feeds.
NO MARGIN FOR ERROR
Of the Vixens last seven matches, today’s has been the only convincing win. Three have been decided by a solitary point, and a further three by five or less. While tight margins are good news for both fans and television ratings, they can play havoc with a team’s confidence.
QUARTER QUANDARIES
The Firebirds have made a habit of storming home with a bang, winning four last quarters of the seven rounds played this season. It’s the second quarter that’s their Achilles heel, picking up just two of the seven. Gaining consistency would go a long way to straightening out their season.
DIAL A DIAMOND
With the national squad announced during the week, Diamonds’ coach Stacey Marinkovich had the pleasure of informing Vixens Kiera Austin, Liz Watson, Kate Moloney and Jo Weston, and the Firebirds Donnell Wallam and Ruby Bakewell-Doran of their selection. The six are almost a complete team of sparklers, all the way down court.
Originally published as Super Netball round seven: West Coast Fever take care of Lightning but Adelaide emerge as challenger
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