Super Netball round five: NSW Swifts fight their way into the top four with nailbiting win
The Firebirds gave the Fever a massive scare, while the Swifts went into the top four. Catch up with all the round five Super Netball action.
Netball
Don't miss out on the headlines from Netball. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Giants won a scrappy encounter over the Magpies, while the Thunderbirds had an ‘all time’ win over the Vixens at home.
On Sunday, the Swifts fought their way into the top four with a thrilling victory over the Lightning, while the Firebirds almost pulled off the upset of the season against the Fever
Catch up with all the round five Super Netball action.
Swifts go top four with nailbiting win over Lightning
NSW Swifts clawed their way back into the top four with a nailbiting one goal win over Sunshine Coast Lightning in Super Netball.
The victory caused a big shake up in the ladder, with Swifts forcing their way into the top four for the first time this season while simultaneously pushing Lightning out of it.
In the final two minutes of the game Steph Wood went down with an apparent knee injury, sending shockwaves through the stadium. She battled on, against the ever-present physical pressure of Maddy Turner but it wasn’t enough.
A Helen Housby super shot with less than one minute remaining nudged them into the lead. A rare Karla Pretorius fumble gave the ball back to the Swifts who capitalised by playing their famous possession game.
Speaking after the match, Housby said, “It feels like there isn’t any air left in the stadium for us. We knew Lightning were going to stick with us for the full 60 minutes. We just had to have the belief to win the game and we did.”
Romelda Aiken-George is still searching for form in her new colours, but had a dominant game against compatriot Kadie-Ann Dehaney, scoring 43 from 49 including an impressive lay-up.
Down by three at halftime, the biggest margin of the game, Swifts’ head coach Briony Akle was frank about her side’s performance.
“We’ve been good in patches, but we need a lot more consistency and sticking to the game plan” she said in a broadcast interview.
Lightning’s Laura Scherian was forced off court in the third with blood streaming from her face, but Swifts were unable to take advantage of the disruption. They instead opted to get themselves back in the game courtesy of a Helen Housby super shot.
Throughout the match Swifts struggled to win back ball in defence, and found it harder to score off it. With only four gains for the match and scoring off just 50 per cent of them, it was in stark contrast to Lightning who capitalised on 83 per cent of their defensive wins.
DIAMONDS DAZZLING DUO
Cara Koenen and Steph Wood have been one of the most tantalising shooting combinations on show in 2023. With Australian Diamonds squad selection just two weeks away, expect to see them at the top of Stacey Marinkovich’s list not just for the squad but for the World Cup Team headed to Cape Town.
DIAMONDS DEADLINE
With seven past and present Diamonds players on show, and squad announcement looming all eyes were on last year’s squad members Maddy Proud and Maddy Turner who are yet to make themselves permanent fixtures in the side. Both players put out strong performances, especially Proud who was finding her shooters with ease. However, she was costly with ball in hand giving away four turnovers, something that may be of concern for Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich.
Firebirds give Fever almighty scare
-Alex Murdoch
Reigning premiers West Coast Fever narrowly defeated the Queensland Firebirds in a nail-bitingly physical 73-71 stoush in Brisbane on Sunday, continuing its Super Netball domination with a fifth-straight win.
The Fever remain the only team yet to drop a match, leaving the Firebirds in the position no team wanted – five matches down with no wins on the board and desperately showing the lack of their superstar goal attack Greta Bueta.
But the Queenslanders didn’t go down without a fight, with a huge seven-point clawback -which included three super shots from goal shooter Donnell Wallam in row – almost causing a last-minute upset.
While it wasn’t enough to turn the green tide, it showed the Firebirds couldn’t be counted out from the competition just yet.
The news came as netball great Catherine Cox only yesterday foreshadowed a winless season for the three-time premiers, who won the 2011, 15 and 16 seasons and were now classed as in a rebuilding phase.
“They could go through this season without a win – they could be the first side to do that since 2018,’’ Cox said on Fox Sport’s Centre Circle.
“They’re not easybeats but it could happen.” Ultimately, it was player of the match Jamaican champion Jhaniele Fowler’s unbelievable accuracy which made the difference for the Fever, scoring an astounding 60 shots from 61 attempts at 98% – bringing her to a league-topping 280 goals from 284 attempts from the first five rounds.
Meanwhile, Bueta, who was a last-minute pregnancy withdrawal from the roster, had been replaced by Mia Stower (3/4) and Emily Moore (4/5) who both showed promise but had yet to hit their straps.
Instead, it was Wallam who kept the Birds in the hunt, scoring 55 shots from 63 attempts.
The first quarter started off even, with both sides scoring shot for shot for the first four goals. – but then the Fever began showing their class, quickly blowing the lead out 10-5.
Not even the first quarter loss of Fever Captain and goalkeeper Courtney Bruce, who was forced to withdraw with an apparent thigh injury after a hard landing and replaced by Rudi Ellis, was enough to stop the visitor’s momentum.
By the end of the first quarter Fever held a 10-point lead 25/15 despite two two-point Super Shots by Wallam, compared to one by the Fever’s goal attack Sasha Glasgow.
By halftime the Fever had stretched their domination to 13 points (43-30) despite Firebirds’ goal attack Mia Stower stepping up to the plate with her own Super Shot.
Meanwhile, Wing Defence Gabi Simpson celebrated her 150th game – a feat only matched in the side by former players Laura Geitz (169) and Romelda Aiken-George (197).
Showing her continuing commitment to the sport, Simpson twice put her body on the line to stop deflect a Fever take as well as scoring an impressive intercept close to the end of the second quarter.
A third quarter shake-up, which saw Firebirds Captain Kim Ravaillion switched from centre to take over from Simpson in wing defence with Macey Gardner taking over in the centre, saw the Firebirds speed up through the middle triggered the last-minute fightback and ending the third quarter 58-51
Thunderbirds flying at home after emphatic win over Vixens
– Georgia Doyle
Adelaide Thunderbirds secured their first home win for the Super Netball season in emphatic fashion, bulldozing a persistent Melbourne Vixens side by 11 goals.
It was a disappointing result for Vixen Kiera Austin, who notched up her 50th national league game. Despite scoring four supershots, Austin and her teammates struggled to hold onto the ball against a ferocious Thunderbirds’ defensive line.
MVP Shamera Sterling dazzled the fans, twice rejecting a shot on the buzzer and setting the crowd alight. Speaking after the match, Sterling said, “It feels absolutely so good to beat the Vixens. In the previous years they have been the ones to beat, so this win is ‘all time’.”
Thunderbirds acknowledged their poor performance last week, with assistant coach Tracey Neville speaking pragmatically about their expectations.
“We needed to learn from last week, so we really punished ourselves as coaches and players that we expect better from ourselves in those critical scenarios. We have to come out and execute” she said after the match.
The seemingly never ending arms of the Thunderbirds defenders wreaked havoc through the Vixens attacking end, with potent wing defence Latanya Wilson causing mass disruption.
Liz Watson had a tough day at the office against the in-form Wilson. The usually dominant Diamonds attacker was starved of ball, becoming frustrated and giving away 13 penalties and six turnovers.
Thunderbirds welcomed back captain Hannah Petty from injury, who hasn’t played since the abandoned Round Two match. She didn’t skip a beat when injected to combat the Vixens comeback, connecting with her shooters and adding extra defensive pressure through the midcourt.
Adelaide shooter Tippah Dwan is known for her speed and elusiveness, something she was forced to draw upon facing “‘one of [her] toughest opponents” in Vixens and Diamonds defender Jo Weston.
In an attempt to combat Vixen defender Jo Weston’s dogged tagging, Thunderbirds coaches instructions at half time were to “keep chugging and keep running”.
Vixens struggled to earn back the ball, with only eight defensive wins for the game. And to make matters worse, they were only able to score off two of these compared to Thunderbirds who capitalised on 15 of the 20 balls they won back.
Low shooting percentage didn’t help Vixens’ cause either, with just 75 per cent accuracy largely due to their super shot attempts. They were left without much choice, attempting them to try and give the scoreline some dignity.
This sealed the game for Thunderbirds, who now face their biggest challenge next week against an unbeaten West Coast Fever in what many pundits are predicting will be a grand final preview.
Neville is ever-aware of the fight they face next week.
“Fever are locked in stone for finals, for us it’s how we contest against their players and what we can put out. We need to be able to change within a game, tonight we had to change what we were doing to get the better of the Vixens. The girls were able to take on that tactical intelligence, which will be really important going forward” she said after the match.
AUSTIN’S POWERS
In her 50th domestic match Kiera Austin returned to Netball SA Stadium for the first time since rupturing her ACL on the court two years ago. She showed no sign of worry, confidently scoring 14 from 17, including four supershots.
MASTERS VERSUS APPRENTICES
Adelaide Thunderbirds are the youngest team in Super Netball, with an average age of just 23.6 years. They didn’t let this phase them up against the veteran Melbourne Vixens side.
With a combined 429 games under their belt, Thunderbirds matched the smarts and composure of the Vixens who have close to double the experience at 807 domestic matches.
History repeats as Giants slay Magpies
– Kate Allman
The Collingwood Magpies seem unable to shake their orange curse, clocking an embarrassing fourteenth loss from 15 Super Netball matches against the Giants in Sydney on Saturday night.
The Melbourne team’s 59-55 loss bore ugly parallels to a stadium pie – hot, cold, messy and spilling all over the place. Former Giants captain Kimberlee Green repeatedly called the round five clash “messy” and “scrappy” on the broadcast.
“We haven’t been able to get connected. We need to come together, work together and play our own brand,” Collingwood Magpies captain Ash Brazill admitted at half time.
“We don’t have a great win-loss record against the Giants, they’re bit of a bogey team for us. You can’t give a team like that a lead in the first quarter like we did,” Collingwood coach Nicole Richardson said after the match.
But the Giants seemed to thrive in chaos. After losing three on the trot to start their season, the team this week returned to the slick form that saw them reach a preliminary final in 2022, and a grand final the year before.
A fast start sent them to a double-digit lead in the second quarter, which they clung onto despite a late charge in the final quarter from Collingwood.
“We’ve had two wins in a row (rounds four and five) but we need to keep winning because we didn’t have the best start. We’ll take it game by game, quarter by quarter,” said Giants centre Jamie-Lee Price.
The Magpies finished with 54 penalties to the Giants’ 39; and were intercepted twice as often as the home side.
PARMY ARMY ON THE MARCH
With World Cup team selections forecast to be announced in round seven, Australian Diamonds’ selectors Stacey Marinkovich and Anne Sargeant were conspicuously seated in the stands of Ken Rosewall arena.
Earning her first Diamonds’ selection for the England Series last year, Giants wing defender Amy Parmenter has been finding form with impeccable timing. Multiple fingertip receives, flying redistributions and impossible crosscourt intercepts will have caught selectors’ eyes again this week. She finished with three intercepts, four gains and a clean sheet of no turnovers.
“I am trying not to think about that – I’m in Giants mode, Giants land. If the team is playing well that’s where I feel you’re going to play your best netball,” said Parmenter.
Alongside her, player of the match Jamie-Lee Price showed why she has been a Diamonds’ squad member since 2018. She earned a match-high 113 Nissan net points.
Most impressive was the pair’s total shutdown of 2022 Best and Fairest player, Collingwood’s Kelsey Browne.
SUPER SHOTS STYMIED
Much has been made of the Giants’ overreliance on the two-point Super Shot in the final five minutes of each quarter.
However, this week it was Collingwood Magpies’ coach Nicole Richardson urging her team to claw back the 12-point difference with two-pointers – to little avail.
Collingwood attempted 14 Super Shots and netted only six. Jamaican international shooter Shimona Nelson appeared suffocated by the orange defensive wall of Matilda McDonell and April Brandley.
“Something we are developing is what do we do to defend against two-point shooters,” said McDonell.
“We just weren‘t able to get enough supply to Shimmy underneath the posts, they did a really good job to double team her,” said coach Richardson.
Two of the best proponents of the skill – Giants’ power duo Jo Harten and Sophie Dwyer – this week attempted a modest six and came away with three.
Originally published as Super Netball round five: NSW Swifts fight their way into the top four with nailbiting win
‘They rarely lose two in a row’: Diamonds legend fires warning to NZ
The Diamonds suffered their worst loss to New Zealand in more than a decade on Sunday night but a legend of the sport has backed them to bounce back in coach Stacey Marinkovich’s 50th Test.
Aussie world beaters stunned in ‘shock’ upset
Australia’s all-conquering Diamonds have been demolished in a massive netball upset in the Constellation Cup that no one saw coming.