Sapphire Series live stream R8: Titans v Cougars, Wildcats v Bull Sharks

What a difference a day can make as the Brisbane South Wildcats and the Gold Coast Titans pulled off stunning form reversals in their weekend doubleheaders. Watch both fascinating REPLAYS.

The Brisbane South Wildcats have broken their recent run of outs with a well-deserved seven-goal victory against the Bond University Bull Sharks to breathe new life into their season.

Coming off a 67-51 drubbing to the in-form Sunshine Coast Thunder the previous evening, the Wildcats needed to make a statement and this result was definitely it.

The young Bull Sharks had no answer to the midfield onslaught, as precision passing from the Brisbane South engine room easily set up their forwards.

The Bull Sharks did, however, make the contest exciting late in the last quarter with a run of two-pointers, but the Wildcats steadied to close it out 65-58.

REPLAYS

Brisbane South Wildcats v Bond University Bull Sharks

Watch the full replay in the window above.

Gold Coast Titans Netball v ACU Brisbane Cougars

The win leaves the Wildcats in sixth position, but the players will take plenty of belief from the game that they can still match it with teams above them.

Brisbane South appeared to settle the better from the outset and capitalised on late points at the back end of both quarters to ensure they led at both breaks.

With the Bull Sharks struggling in attack, the seven-goal margin at the main interval was a fair reflection of the gap between the two sides.

The Gold Coast Titans have bounced back from the disappointment of losing less than 24 hours earlier with a resounding nine-goal win against the ACU Brisbane Cougars.

The Titans went down to table leaders Ipswich Jets on Saturday night, but showed they were far from a spent force in this year’s premiership race with a terrific 58-49 victory.

After trailing narrowly at quarter time, the Titans took control of the contest in the second quarter, extending the lead at every change.

The Titans appeared far more organised in field play, but it was in defence were they excelled, as they regularly put the Cougars under pressure.

The defeat was a bitter pill for the reigning champions as they slumped to a 2-5 win-loss record with only five games remaining.

PREVIEW

Brisbane South Wildcats coach Megan Lynch is confident her young side will ramp up the intensity and gain early bragging rights over Bond University Bull Sharks in a big Sapphire Series round eight clash.

Backing up after facing Sunshine Coast Thunder a little over 24 hours earlier, sixth place Wildcats are looking to find their way into the season after three defeats in their opening four games.

The round 8 clash at Nissan Arena will bring to a close a mega weekend of Sapphire action.

After broadcasting two round seven games on Saturday, KommunityTV will showcase the Wildcats v Bull Sharks and the earlier Gold Coast Titans v ACU Brisbane Cougars clash on Sunday.

Check out the LIVE STREAM schedule below.

The Wildcats are ready to make some noise.

The Wildcats lost veteran Sapphire goal attack Kayla Anderson in round 1 to an ACL rupture and have since been forced to call on Ruby Series shooter Zara Van Gorp to fill the gap.

Arguably the least experienced of either roster, Van Gorp will have her work cut out.

“Zara has been playing in both Ruby and Sapphire because she still needs to develop who she is and where she fits,” Lynch said.

“She’s a hugely athletic young girl and physically very strong.

“We don’t want to throw her to the wolves, because if you do that with kids then that’s how you lose them.

“It’s about giving her time.”

Lynch, now in her fifth year of leading the Wildcats, was open about the youth of her side and how it’s affected their game in recent weeks.

“It’s about teaching our young ones intensity, and how to keep up that intensity for four quarters.

“They’re young and inexperienced, so they do pull their foot off at times,” she said.

“The difference of pace is probably the biggest thing and the fact Sapphire girls can do things physically that Ruby can’t.

“It’s just about learning the difference in pace and smarts of it all.

The Wildcats have only won once so far.

“We’ve been working on how we can change up the pace, how to use both as an advantage, and when the best time is to implement that change,” Lynch said.

“On any given day, any team in the comp can win a game.

“It’s a very different competition to previous years and we just want to keep growing.”

Lynch pointed to the Bull Shark’s attack being a key focus at training, with shooters Mia Stower, Hannah Le Sage and Kaylin Van Greunen impressing in recent weeks with their percentages and Super Shot execution.

“We’ve had a look at the Bond team and pointed out some ways we could counteract on Sunday,” Lynch said.

“We’re well aware that Kaylin is their main target in that first 10 minutes.

“But come that last five minutes during two-point time, you do have to weigh up whether to shut the two down or the one.

“We just have to make a decision based on the score at the time.

“It will dictate a lot as to whether there is an urgency from them around the two points or not.”

“We do lack some of the height to match those really tall shooters, but they’re working on alternative ways to shut down teams.”

Lynch said the side were looking at ways to combat the two-point attack during close games, including the recent defensive shuffle of Georgia Feeney out to goal defence and Halle Geyer taking on the goal keeper role.

HART Sapphire Series round 1 2024, Gold Coast Titans v Brisbane South Wildcats

“It will just depend on what we see and how the game rolls out,” Lynch said.

The Wildcats were without the experience of Firebirds training partner Ali Miller when they suffered a 77-53 loss to the TAE Aerospace Jets in round 5.

Missing the goal attack once again for Saturday’s round 7 match, Lynch is still optimistic she’ll be cleared to return for Sunday’s showdown.

“We have to wait and find out, but it all comes down to what happens at the Firebirds,” she said.

Regardless of Miller’s presence, Lynch believes her attacking end have the potential to put up a fight against Bond’s somewhat equally inexperienced circle defence.

Goal keeper Lauren Aubrey is in her first season of Sapphire series after several years as a training partner for the Brisbane North Cougars.

“She is unassuming in the sense she is very tall, so for me it’s about pass placement from my girls and looking at where the feeds go,” Lynch said.

“Do you look for the feed into your shooter or do you look for that shorter option?

“We’ve worked on how to vary that up and to ensure we’re being strong with our bodies.”