Super Netball news: Miracle cure saves star’s season after horrific injury
Geva Mentor should have been sidelined for most of the season after suffering a horror ankle injury a little more than a month ago – but a secret weapon helped her cut her rehab time from 12 weeks to four.
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Geva Mentor should have been sidelined for most of the season after suffering a horror ankle injury a little more than a month ago – but a secret weapon helped her cut her rehab time from 12 weeks to four.
The Magpies co-captain damaged several ligaments in her right ankle during the Team Girls Cup pre-season tournament.
Mentor, 37, was unable to walk, using a scooter and crutches to get around before being put in a moon boot.
Photos shared on Instagram show just how damaged the ankle was.
While the Magpie physio team played a part in her recovery Mentor said it was access to a Hyperbaric Chamber that helped her “uphill battle” with the injury.
“I highly recommend them because it helped me turn a 12 week injury into a four week recovery,” Mentor said.
“I raced to the start line to get back out on court and I’m really happy with being able to suit up and lead my team out on the weekend.
“I just need to find some form and get that speed and reaction back again.”
Her race to recover from injury in time for Round 1 was not unlike Swifts’ goaler Sam Wallace’s efforts to get her knee ready for the season.
Wallace’s court return did not go as smoothly as Mentor’s. The Swifts shooter went down in a fall that silenced the crowd, with the team confirming she will be out for the season and also miss taking to the court for Trinidad & Tobago in the Commonwealth Games.
Mentor, a member of the English squad, was at the airport on her way back from Adelaide when she heard the news.
“The netball community is so tight and we feel for everybody,” Mentor said.
“Yes we are competitors but we wish them all the best and would never wish that on anybody. It is heart wrenching that she will miss the Commonwealth Games.”
Magpies, who were without coach Nicole Richardson (Covid-19) and Ash Brazill (concussion) didn’t come away from Adelaide with a win going down 50-54.
Collingwood have been quick to turn their focus to their Round 2 clash – the first at their home stadium since early in 2021.
They will go head to head with Fever, who are coming off a dominant win over Lightning, winning 82-62 -setting the highest team total in Super Netball history.
“I feel like it’s been since round two or three last year since we were last at home so we are excited to not just come up against the competition leaders but also to be able to play on our home ground in front of our friends and family and fans,” Mentor said.
Magpies will play Fever at 2pm on Sunday at John Cain Arena.
THE TRADE THAT DESTROYED THE SWIFTS
Sam Wallace’s devastating ACL tear is not only a crushing blow for the Trinidad and Tobago shooter but the NSW Swifts’ chances of snaring back-to-back Super Netball crowns.
The Swifts are yet to announce a replacement for Wallace but at this point of the season and with professional leagues in England and New Zealand already in full swing, it’s unlikely that they will be able to snare another player of her standing.
Without one, the Swifts cannot win the title.
Wallace is one of the best goal shooters in the world and a key part of the Swifts’ two premierships in the past three years.
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Such is her dominance – and that of fellow import shooter Helen Housby – that Diamonds squad member and two-time premiership winner Sophie Garbin made the move interstate in the off-season to secure more court time.
What the Swifts would give to have her in the wings now.
In the short term at least, Wallace’s injury will give young gun Kelly Singleton a chance to step into the limelight, with the NSW junior getting her chance to shine on the big stage.
With Super Netball squads restricted to just 10 players though, the loss of a key player during the season is difficult for any team to overcome and can have devastating effects on their season.
COURAGEOUS COMEBACK
Kiera Austin’s Super Netball return has been described as “courageous” by Melbourne Vixens coach Simone McKinnis after the goaler suffered a stark reminder of just how far she’s come in the past year.
Austin, who ruptured her ACL in the opening round of the 2021 season playing for the Giants, was watching the Swifts-Giants clash with her new Vixens teammates in Brisbane on Saturday night and watched on in horror as Swifts goaler Sam Wallace crashed to the court in pain late in the match.
“We were watching that game and for anybody, let alone whether they’ve done their knee, it’s hard to watch and you feel for them,” McKinnis said.
“But for somebody just on their way back, it takes a little time to regroup from that, so it’s significant for her.
“It takes being brave to be able to step in and say, yeah, I will start and I am ready.
“That was an important step for her and I just think she’s going to grow and grow from here, so I’m rapt for her.”
SUPER NETBALL IN HIGH DEMAND
Super Netball’s drive to be the best league in the world is paying off in terms of demand, with international fans overjoyed last week when Netball Australia announced deals with New Zealand and UK broadcasters.
Netball Australia sold broadcasting rights to streaming service Spark Sport in New Zealand, while Sky will carry matches in the UK in a move that has been popular with overseas fans, who were desperate for a mechanism to watch the league.
With Telstra no longer streaming games on its Netball Live app, Netball Australia has also introduced its own subscription streaming platform which can be accessed from areas outside of Australia and New Zealand where every game is live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
YOUR TOP 30 PLAYERS
THE fans have spoken, rating returning Diamonds captain Liz Watson as the best player in Super Netball.
There’s been plenty of response to News Corp’s list of the top 30 players in Super Netball, with fans able to have their say via the online interactive poll.
A panel of experts ranked Queensland Firebirds and Diamonds goaler Gretel Bueta as No. 1, with Watson at No. 3 after she spent last year on the sidelines with a foot injury.
But after a stunning comeback leading the Diamonds to the Quad Series title in England in January and the Vixens to the pre-season Team Girls Cup, Watson has fans convinced she’s back to her best already.
Bueta is not far behind at No. 2, with Adelaide Thunderbirds defender Shamera Sterling rounding out the fans’ top three.
LIKES
The outpouring of love from players throughout the league to Sam Wallace after she ruptured her ACL in the opening round.
More than just good wishes for a colleague suffering a serious injury, the sentiment showed what a popular figure Wallace is in the game.
It’s rare a player lives up to the hype but Donnell Wallam’s debut for the Firebirds showed she can be a genuine and exciting star in this league and a leading light for other First Nations players.
DISLIKES
It’s going to be a long year for the Sunshine Coast Lightning if they play as poorly every week as they did against the West Coast Fever on Sunday.
The Fever have blown the Lightning out of the water on several occasions over the past two years but there were worrying signs for the visitors, who have never failed to make the Super Netball finals.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jhaniele Fowler – West Coast Fever
Among all the talk of Liz Watson’s comeback and Gretel Bueta’s installation as the best in the league, Fowler gave a reminder of why she’s regarded as the best shooter in the world.
The four-time Super Netball player of the year poured in 64 goals at 97 per cent accuracy, with her only two misses of the match coming late in the game from super shot range.
NET GAINS VOTES
Adelaide Thunderbirds v Collingwood Magpies
Georgie Horjus (Tbirds) 3, Shamera Sterling (Tbirds) 2, Jodi-Ann Ward (Magpies) 1
Giants Netball v NSW Swifts
Jamie-Lee Price (Giants) 3, Amy Parmenter (Giants) 2, Helen Housby (Swifts) 1
Melbourne Vixens v Queensland Firebirds
Liz Watson (Vixens) 3, Mwai Kumwenda (Vixens) 2, Donnell Wallam (Firebirds) 1
West Coast Fever v Sunshine Coast Lightning
Jhaniele Fowler (Fever) 3, Courtney Bruce (Fever) 2, Alice Teague-Neeld (Fever) 1
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Originally published as Super Netball news: Miracle cure saves star’s season after horrific injury
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