Super Netball 2022 round 2 teams: Fixture chaos as Covid rips through Giants and Swifts
The Giants are not the only team struggling with Covid-infected players with Swifts star Paige Hadley a late round 2 withdrawal. It follows the league’s protocols being slammed as unfair.
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NSW Swifts co-captain Paige Hadley will miss her side’s round two clash with the Vixens after testing positive for Covid.
It’s a massive blow to the reigning champions who earlier this week received the devastating news that Sam Wallace’s season had been ended by an ACL injury.
“Losing world-class players is never ideal and Paige is one of the heartbeats of the team, but what’s most important is that she rests up and recovers because it’s a long season ahead,” said Briony Akle.
“I spoke with Paige and she is in good spirits and not feeling too bad, so it should only be a one-game absence and she will be chomping at the bit to get out on court next week.”
Hadley’s withdrawal comes less than 18 hours after Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan was forced to defend the league’s Covid protocols after the virus decimated Giants.
Ryan conceded the fact they must play on instead of being granted a postponement is not fair — but nothing about the pandemic has been.
On the surface, the league’s pandemic protocols look to have failed their first test, with the Giants denied permission to reschedule this weekend’s match against the Adelaide Thunderbirds, despite having six players ruled out with Covid.
Three players — Jamie-Lee Price, Sophie Dwyer and Amy Parmenter — are members of the Diamonds squad, leaving the team decimated and shattering any chance of a fair contest.
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The league protocols, released just last week in the lead-up to the season, outline grounds for the postponement of a match, which include having five or more players affected by the virus, or three from any one section of the court (defenders, midcourters or goalers).
But Ryan clarified that those numbers must come from a club’s list of full-time contracted players and, while the Giants have six players battling Covid, only three of them are from the main group.
Ummm…what?!?! this is just a bizarre decision!
— Nat Medhurst (@natmedhurst) March 31, 2022
I really feel for the Giants but also the state of the integrity of our sport & games being played and what precedent this decision now sets for the remainder of the season & impact on results come finals time. https://t.co/xEnQPN97YH
Another two — Lauren Moore and Amy Sligar — missed last week’s season-opener against the NSW Swifts with Covid and are yet to receive medical clearances to play this week.
Sligar, whose twin Nat is one of three Giants training partners to have also tested positive, trained on Thursday, while Moore will not be able to join the group until Saturday, when the team is scheduled to travel to Adelaide before Sunday’s clash against the Thunderbirds.
The Giants’ request to postpone the match was denied on Wednesday — when four players were positive — and again on Thursday, when six members of the squad had returned positive tests.
Our playing group (what we have left) are ready and raring to give it our best shot on Sunday.. but the precedent has now been set for the entire season. Let’s go Giants 🧡 https://t.co/GRYxnGqOzi
— Jo Harten (@Jarten) March 31, 2022
That could yet change, with Ryan saying the situation would continue to be monitored and any further change would be assessed.
But teams had signed up to a home-and-away season they knew would be affected by Covid and agreed to work to field teams to keep the sport out of a hub for a third consecutive season.
“Coming back to the overarching philosophy that the whole sport signed up to is that the show must go on,” Ryan said. “We always mandated that rescheduling or postponement is an absolute last resort because we have a very condensed season as it is.
“We already have two midweek rounds, we have a Commonwealth Games campaign to prepare for, so if we’re experiencing this in week, two, we don’t want the snowball effect of dealing with seven, eight, nine, 10 rescheduled events that are stacking up at the end of the year.
“That is just not great for anybody involved in the sport … it becomes impossible.”
The Giants have more training partners than any other team in the league but if forced to play at the weekend are likely to have to draw from the pool of training partners in Adelaide.
It’s a decision that will have major ramifications for every club in the competition.
After two Covid-plagued years spent in hubs and bubbles, the league is understandably determined to run a home-and-away season. But if the Giants — the deepest team in the league, who have eight training partners in addition to their contracted list of 10 players — are unable to field a side, what chance does any other team have?
Ryan conceded it was not fair.
“It is highly likely that every team will be not fielding their ideal team at any given moment in the season,” Ryan said. “So there’s a very fair chance the system will equalise itself in some way, shape or form, but it’s probably likely not to be fair.
“Nothing about Covid has been fair. We’re not about trying to create everything equal.
“We didn’t come into this season under any illusion that it was going to be perfect and that it was going to be fair and that Covid wouldn’t be playing a role.
“We came into it fully prepared for all scenarios and we’re prepared for them and we will manage them as best as we possibly can to make sure that we can again deliver, unfortunately, another Covid-impacted season of SSN (Super Netball).”
Giants captain Jo Harten said on Twitter her team would be raring to go on Sunday if the game went ahead but noted a precedent had now been set for the season.
Executive General Manager of Giants Netball, Tim Underwood, said: “This is an incredibly challenging situation for our club but as we know with Covid, we need to adapt.”
“We have continued to face Covid disruptions over the past 24 months and we’ve shown a strong ability to adapt to any challenge thrown our way.
“I can assure our members and fans that the players who travel to Adelaide for Sunday’s match will stand united and wear the orange dress with pride.”
EARLIER: Super Netball’s pandemic protocols look to have failed their first test.
The Giants have been denied permission to reschedule this weekend’s match against Adelaide Thunderbirds, despite having six players ruled out with Covid-19.
Three of those – Jamie-Lee Price, Sophie Dwyer and Amy Parmenter – are members of the Diamonds squad, leaving the team decimated and shattering any chance of a fair contest.
The league protocols, released last week in the lead-up to the season, outline grounds to postpone a match.
They include having five or more players affected by the virus, or three from any one section of the court (defenders, midcourters or goalers).
The Giants meet both criteria, yet two requests to reschedule the game have been denied in what seems an extraordinary reaction.
The decision will have major ramifications for every club in the competition.
After two Covid-plagued years spent in hubs and bubbles, the league is understandably determined to run a home-and-away season.
But if the Giants – the deepest team in the league who have have eight training partners in addition to their contracted list of 10 players – can’t field a side, what chance does any other team have?
As well as the Diamonds trio, Gemma Donoghue, who made her Super Netball debut last week because Amy Sligar and Lauren Moore already were in Covid protocols, and training partners Nat Sligar and Eliza Burton have tested positive for the virus.
The Giants are understood to have made an initial application to postpone the match on Wednesday, when four players had tested positive. That was rejected but they made another on Thursday, when the outbreak extended to six players.
Two staff outside of the main coaching group have also tested positive, showing a major outbreak is in play at the club.
If forced to play, the Giants would have to field the four remaining members of their contracted squad, two players returning from Covid — neither of whom have yet been medically cleared to play — and the three (of eight) training partners not affected by Covid or injury.
They would then be forced to draw from the South Australian pool of talent to complete their match-day squad.
While it’s technically possible to assemble a team, the decision to force the team to play seems farcical and could have major implications if the outbreak expands, or extends to the Thunderbirds group.
Any Giants player testing positive in Adelaide would be forced into seven-day isolation in South Australia.
Super Netball chief executive Kelly Ryan said ahead of the season the “show must go on” this year, with the league having to learn to live with Covid.
Few would disagree with those sentiments but it can’t come at any cost.
WALLACE REPLACEMENT NAMED
Teen ace Sophie Fawns has been added to the NSW Swifts roster as a temporary replacement player for injured star Sam Wallace.
The Swifts will continue to hunt for a season-long option to come into the goal circle in place of Trinidad and Tobago international Wallace, who ruptured her ACL in the opening match of the season last week.
Until then though, Wagga Wagga goaler Fawns has earnt a call-up at just 18 for Saturday’s clash against the Melbourne Vixens at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.
Fawns is one of the brightest emerging talents in Australian netball, having come through the Netball NSW pathway and Swifts Academy as well as earning national under-age honours.
Due to the pandemic though, she has not had an opportunity to test herself on the world stage and a Super Netball start would be a step up, but one Swifts coach Briony Akle is sure she can handle.
“It has been a pretty crazy week losing Sam and the emotions that go with that, however, Sophie has trained really well with the team,” Akle said.
“Sam has also been courtside encouraging her which is brilliant to see.
“Sophie has been around the team for a while now, via the Academy, and her role as a training partner, so she knows what it’s like at this level.”
Fawns was called into the Swifts 10 last week when Teigan O’Shannassy was ruled out due to Covid protocols but did not play.
“While she didn’t get on the court, I think the whole experience was great for her and now she has an idea of what to expect,” Akle said.
“In the long term, we are still assessing our options as there is almost a full season left to play out but in the interim we’re really looking forward to seeing what Sophie can do should the opportunity come.”
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