Super Netball Round 4: West Coast Fever continue their dominance, running away from Swifts
Can anyone beat the West Coast Fever? That’s the question Super Netball fans are pondering after the premiers’ fourth straight win to open 2023.
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All the latest news and updates from round four of the Super Netball season.
Fever brushes off Swifts after slow start
-Jenny Sinclair
West Coast Fever 78 defeated NSW Swifts 67
At Ken Rosewall Arena
The West Coast Fever juggernaut rolled on as they recorded their fourth win of the 2023 Super Netball season, and their eighth on the trot. Undeterred by their slow start, Fever ran away with an 11 point win over the NSW Swifts.
Swifts game plan was clear – to keep the dangerous Sasha Glasgow out of supershot range, while scoring plenty of their own. And while Helen Housby responded with five two-pointers for the Swifts, Glasgow was unstoppable with seven from eight.
A range of uncharacteristic errors in the early stages of Fever’s game allowed the Swifts to establish a narrow margin at quarter time. While it was the first time this season Fever trailed at the first break, last year’s premier’s showed little sign of panic.
However, Coach Dan Ryan shuffled his line-up shortly afterwards, sending Verity Simmons to the bench as he searched for greater ball security. It was immediately effective as Fever went on a five point scoring spree, to level the scores at half time.
The match turned into a battle of attrition – a gritty and physical contest, with bodies repeatedly hitting the boards. During a tactical time out, Swifts’ coach Briony Akle implored her team to get off the body. Otherwise, they will ‘bash the s*** out of you,’ she said.
Unfortunately the Swifts couldn’t hold their form across four quarters. While they had almost as many scoring shots as Fever, their accuracy was considerably lower, and they were only able to score off 44 per cent of any intercepts they picked up.
Swifts’ coach Briony Akle was disappointed with her side’s second half meltdown. She said post game, “We were very undisciplined.
“I was really proud in the first half and we had them rattled. Small little things in the Swifts game, we threw a bad pass at a silly two point time, and the Fever punish you.”
Swifts’ midcourters Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud were both impressive as they continue to press for Diamonds’ selection. However, they were outpointed by match MVP Alice Teague-Neeld. Fever’s wing attack continued her blistering form, finishing in her fourth consecutive Super Netball team of the week.
Courtney Bruce once again wreaked havoc, finishing the game with three intercepts and six deflections although she struggled to match Romelda Aiken-George in the air for the rebounds. The duo have a history of entertaining, albeit physical, battles and today’s clash was little different with each ball contested and each penalty appealed.
GIRL ON FIRE
Alice Teague-Neeld is the in-form wing attack of the season, doing a mountain of work in attack, and adding defensive grunt with two intercepts. Most impressive has been her ball security – she’s given up a thrifty nine errors, at an average of just two per game.
With stats like these Teague-Neeld should come under consideration for the Diamonds’ squad.
MILESTONE MAGIC
Umpire Rachael Ayre notched up her 100th game in charge at national league level, while Fever youngster Sunday Aryang recorded her 50th game for the franchise. Aryang is the first African born Australian to play for the Diamonds.
Giants claim gritty victory over T-Birds
Giants Netball has climbed off the canvas to snap a frustrating three-game losing streak to open the Super Netball season and prove they have the ammunition to be a title contender.
Facing an undefeated Adelaide Thunderbirds in enemy territory, last year’s preliminary finalist came from behind in the final quarter to triumph 59-54 on Sunday. They were also 1-3 (win-loss) in 2022.
The Giants powered to victory in the seesawing battle on the back of an emphatic 18-10 final quarter when they converted all three gains, two being intercepts, into goals.
Wing defence Amy Parmenter set the tone for the visitors with three intercepts in the opening quarter, having gone into the contest with four for the previous three rounds.
SUPER FORM
Giants goal attack Sophie Dwyer has been on song from long range to lead the league’s super shot count with 16 after three rounds.
And her accuracy had a massive influence in the first quarter, nailing all three attempts to enable the Giants to build a seven-point buffer.
Given the visitors trailed by four goals early and three midway through the period, the outstanding form of Dwyer was a huge bonus. She also bagged seven goals from eight attempts, before going on her two-point feast.
Tippah Dwan sunk a super shot on the quarter-time whistle for the Thunderbirds to cut the deficit to five at quarter time.
What a contrast in the second quarter. The Thunderbirds trailed by seven, only for Eleanor Cardwell to hit two super shots.
Dwyer missed both her attempts at the two points and the scores were locked together at 29-all at halftime.
CHANGE UP
The Thunderbirds opened with the same seven who dominated the Sunshine Coast Lightning last week.
But a sloppy performance, reflected on the scoreboard, prompted Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst to alter her line-up and show off the depth in the squad.
Maise Nankivell was thrown into the game at centre for the start of the second quarter. Six minutes later, Lucy Austin was introduced at goal shooter, Tayla Williams returned to the game at wing defence, Cardwell was moved to goal attack and Latanya Wilson switched from wing defence to goal defence.
STERLING SCARE
Champion Thunderbirds defender Shamera Sterling gave the home side a huge scare in the final seconds of the third quarter when she limped from the court with a leg injury.
The Jamaican, arguably the world’s leading goal keeper, immediately received treatment, before being declared fit to take the court for the final period.
If Sterling was not the key reason for the Thunderbirds’ fight back, she was certainly highly instrumental in the home side grabbing a three-goal lead at three-quarter time.
Giants Jo Harten used the final break to chat with the umpires about the Thunderbirds goalers’ tactics.
Magpies hand Firebirds fourth straight loss
-Katrina Nissen
The Collingwood Magpies have shaken off last week’s colossal defeat to deliver the Queensland Firebirds’ fourth straight loss of the 2023 season. It was an error-riddled match, but a huge third quarter from the Magpies sealed the eight goal victory.
The Firebirds came out of the blocks strongly to win the opening half by five goals. Their new defensive duo of Remi Kamo and Ruby Bakewell-Doran caused havoc to the Magpies’ front end. In particular, Kamo’s aerial pressure caused uncharacteristic misses and offensive contacts from Jamaican Shimona Nelson.
After a litany of first quarter ball-handling errors from the Magpies front end, frustrated coach Nicole Richardson called a time-out to give her charges instructions to be more accountable.
During the second term, experienced wing defence Ash Brazill took a knock to the jaw and left the court for a few minutes for a concussion assessment. She re-entered the game and immediately got her hand to the ball, though was still experiencing discomfort.
The Magpies turned the game on its head with a 23-8 third term, the only part of the game they won. Tightening up in all areas of the court, Collingwood punished the Firebirds by scoring off 100 per cent of the ball they won.
Magpies’ goal defence and MVP Jodi-Ann Ward was one of a small number of consistently good players across the 60 minutes. The Jamaican took five intercepts and four deflections while not giving away a single turnover. Perhaps more impressive was that she gave away just six penalties.
After the match, Ward was humble in accepting praise for her performance. She credited the team’s mindset for the turnaround in this game and in moving on from last week’s 27 goal drubbing.
“Last week was not the brand of netball that we wanted to play. We want to show that we are good enough to be up there on the ladder,” she said in a post match interview.
Despite winning the last quarter by two goals, the Firebirds will not be happy with letting the lead slip. Yet another second-half fade out cost them the match, with ten turnovers and 21 penalties in the third term the chief culprit.
BYE BYE BRAZILL
In a post-match interview last week, Magpies fan favourite Ash Brazill announced that 2023 is her final year of netball. The comment was so nonchalantly slipped into the chat that it flew under the radar until a sound bite was played in Fox’s post-round show, Pivot. It sparked a flurry of social media chatter from dismayed Collingwood and Diamonds’ fans.
WHERE DID SHE KAMO FROM?
Heading into round 5, Firebirds’ newest recruit, Remi Kamo, leads all comers in defensive rebounds – 1 point ahead of superstar Shamera Sterling. Kamo is also placed in the top five for deflections and in the top seven for total possession gains. Interestingly, she only collected her first intercept in today’s match.
Vixens win, but concussion a talking point
-Katrina Nissen
Netball Australia’s new concussion protocols will again be in the spotlight after the opening match of round four. In a tightly contested game, the Melbourne Vixens claimed another come-from-behind win, this time beating the Sunshine Coast Lightning by four goals. However, the result will not be the only focus.
In the third term, Lightning’s Mahalia Cassidy took a heavy bump and was sent from the court by the umpires. Concussion protocols dictate that any athlete who sustains a suspected head knock must be immediately assessed. In this instance, Cassidy confirmed she didn’t hit her head and was able to return to court after a few minutes on the sidelines.
However, there was some inconsistency with umpire intervention, as early in the match Vixens’ goal attack, and match MVP Kiera Austin took a knock to the face. Her lip appeared to bleed for a few minutes, and for the remainder of the term she sucked on her mouth, avoiding the umpire’s eye so she wasn’t sent off.
In other match news, Hannah Mundy started at wing attack for the Vixens, causing captain Liz Watson to shift into her second position of centre. However, Watson didn’t look comfortable and it showed in the form of penalties as she notched up more than any other player during the first half.
Watson’s problems worsened before half time when she was cautioned for intentional contact.
After the match, Vixens coach Simone McKinnis acknowledged the high penalty count.
She said, “The main thing is we were staying in play in that last quarter. Too many penalties, too much out of play early on, and that makes a difference to the pressure that was built.”
At the other end, Lightning shooters Steph Wood and Cara Koenen appeared to have put last week’s shocker behind them as they fired precision passes and worked seamlessly to find each other under the post.
Vixens didn’t hit the lead until just before three quarter time, but heavy defensive pressure allowed them to build a winning margin which Lightning couldn’t bridge.
NEGATIVE TREND
Sunshine Coast Lightning is in a negative spiral in a few key stats. Their 2 point goal conversion of 18 per cent is the worst in the league, while they are also registering one of the lowest missed shot conversion rates (25 per cent). But, most concerning is their centre pass to goal rate, which started at a respectable 81 per cent but dropped to 53 per cent in their last match. These are areas that they will need to correct if they are to contest finals.
MAGICAL MWAI
This is the third year of the supershot, so shooters have had time to get comfortable with the controversial two point goal option. One such shooter is Vixen’s Mwai Kumwenda who, last season only shot eight supershots. This season she has already shot 10. Her accuracy rate with the supershot is also quite high, shooting 2 from 3 this match.
Originally published as Super Netball Round 4: West Coast Fever continue their dominance, running away from Swifts
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