Super Netball Round 7 results and news: Liz Watson says statistics are irrelevant ahead of clash with rivals Collingwood
The Vixens are thriving in top spot, while Collingwood is clinging to the bottom. But the Vixens won’t be taking them lightly.
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One team is first, the other clinging to the bottom of the ladder but Vixens co-captain Liz Watson says statistics are irrelevant when it comes to the Melbourne battle.
It will be the first time in two years the rivals go toe to toe in their home state after the Covid-19 interrupted seasons.
Vixens will look to further cement their top of the table spot while Magpies will be out to prove they can match it with one of the most in-form Super Netball teams this year.
“It is a rivalry we have had since the start and to be back at home, playing in front of a Melbourne crowd is going to be very unique,” Watson said.
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The midcourter said the rivalry worked to bring out the best in everyone on the court – creating what is sure to be a tough and exciting game.
“I love playing against Ash Brazill, I personally think she is one of the best wing defenders in the competition,” Watson said.
“She’s very athletic, and we always have a great battle.”
Magpies have just two wins out of their six games this season, the second coming against the Firebirds last round.
With the likes of Sophie Garbin, Brazill, Geva Mentor and Shimona Nelson set to take the court, Watson said Vixens would be silly to consider the game won and done.
“They are in great form and there is no game you can ever take lightly,” Watson said.
“We were at the top when we played Sunshine Coast and they were at the bottom and they absolutely smashed us that game.
“It is definitely going to be a tough one.”
Magpies midcourter Molly Jovic said they were up for the challenge.
“It is one of the biggest games of the season, playing against the Vixens, our cross town rivals, in Melbourne,” Jovic said.
“A lot of us have grown up playing with and against each other in the VNL or state teams so it just adds another level of energy on the day.”
Jovic said there was no such thing as an unwinnable game and it all came down to who could perform at their peak for all four quarters.
Magpies have spend the week analysing the Vixens style of play and forming a plan of attack.
“I really think the girls can take it up to the Vixens this weekend,” Jovic said.
“These kinds of games there is so much pressure, the rivalry is so strong and everyone comes out blazing.
“It is going to be the full seven on the court against the other seven on the court this weekend.”
Vixens will play Magpies at John Cain Arena at 4pm on Sunday.
Horror injury makes star rethink babies
The injury that ruined Sam Wallace’s season has ignited a “fire in the belly” to keep her in the sport and fast-track the career of a player who could eventually be her replacement.
A month after the horror knee injury that halted her Super Netball campaign, Wallace will take the first steps towards long-term recovery on Saturday when she undergoes surgery to repair the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and meniscus in her right knee.
So significant was the damage Wallace did in the opening match of the NSW Swifts’ season that is has taken just over a month for the swelling to reduce enough to allow doctors to operate — although even that was delayed by a few more days when a bout of Covid among the surgical team pushed the date back again.
Wallace practically ripped the inside of her knee apart in a twisting landing, with the scream that echoed around Ken Rosewall Arena a crushing indication the star goaler had suffered a serious injury.
Big love to Sam Wallace and everyone at the @NSWSwiftsâ¤ï¸#SSN2022pic.twitter.com/NgGrF56VHu
— Suncorp Super Netball (@SuperNetball) March 28, 2022
“I’ve never had a big injury before where I’ve had to miss a game and that pain I felt, if that is child labour, I don’t want no kids – and I’m a person who loves kids, so you know how bad that was, the pain was ridiculous,” she said.
“I knew I did it (the ACL) but the way I landed, when I rewatched it, that would explain why my knee rotated 3.5cm (from where it should be). I (tore) pretty much everything.”
It’s been a frustrating wait but Wallace can now see the path forward and has a family of players at the Swifts ready to help her recovery.
Co-captains Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud have both through knee reconstructions after tearing their ACLs and Wallace said having their encouragement, as well as that of club staff had been an enormous support.
“This happens in sports, especially at this elite level. I’m devastated, yes, but I’m just looking at the brighter side,” Wallace said.
“I’m surrounded by the best of the best and I’ll have access to the best in the world so I’m just going to use that and rely on that and all of the girls’ strength as well for being my rock – I can’t thank them enough.
BREAKING: Sam Wallace officially out for the season after ACL tear confirmed.
— Emma Greenwood (@EmmaGreenwood12) March 27, 2022
Not the news anyone was hoping for - Swifts won't make knee-jerk decision on replacement.
“I have my bad days … and I’m not going to lie I’m scared of the surgery because I know I did so much of my knee.
“But I’m going to go in there, say a prayer and hope everything works out for the best.”
Wallace’s road back to the court starts on Monday but hers won’t be the usual isolated journey of a player stuck in the rehab group.
“I still have a huge role in the team. I still do gym – upper body and single leg – and still watch (video) with them and still go to training sessions,” she said.
“It’s really important for me to keep active regardless of whether I can run or do anything on court – and I’m still shooting, standing and shooting – so I still do my thing, I still want to be a part of it and I’m still contracted, it’s like a family in a sense, not just a team.”
That family has been there through thick and thin for Wallace already – the death of her father in 2019 and that of her aunt last year – and she will lean on them again throughout rehab.
“I’m really grateful. We not only friends on the court, we are friends off the court and for them to be in my life is a huge honour,” said Wallace, who lives with teammates Helen Housby and Tayla Fraser.
“These are the girls I will always call family whether I’m living in Australia or anywhere else in the world, they will always ben my family no matter what and I will always have a special place in my heart for them.
“They’ve been in the highs and lows of my life and through my journey since I started in Australia to be my backbone and I don’t think that without them (I would have got through).
“To be away from family and loved ones and going through all these problems … I cry a lot by myself.
“I tend to tell everyone I’m strong all the time but when I’m alone I actually take time to cry and I don’t tend to show them that side of me.
“But I actually should just rely on them because they’ve been so supportive over the past six years.”
Wallace will just take on a different role in the family this year.
A “netty nerd”, the Trinidad and Tobago representative — who will now miss the Commonwealth Games — has a huge reservoir of knowledge that the Swifts are set to tap into, especially where rookie shooter Sophie Fawns is concerned.
Wallace was one of the first people outside her family the teen contacted after being informed by Swifts coach Briony Akle she had won a Super Netball contract.
And Wallace is keen to mentor her and help her take her game to the next level.
“Sophie has impressed me,” Wallace said.
“She’s just 18 years of age and that first game she played, against the Vixens, she just went out there and played with absolute confidence, she had no fear.
“She doesn’t care who she’s playing against and I love that her.”
The fact Fawns and Kelly Singleton, another Swifts shooter who was added to the full-time contact list in the off-season, are so coachable, is helping Wallace too.
“She’s really open for feedback – she and Kelly – so it’s really good.
“She has so much to learn and grow – and put on some muscles – but she’s all good.
“I think I’m still learning and growing and I’m loving (this role).”
It’s helped Wallace understand just how much she loves the game and how much she wants to return to the court and make an impact.
“I always said the day I do my ACL, I’m done, I’m ready to retire,” Wallace said.
“But just the fire, the hunger, my belly burns for netball.
“Not playing, you tend to miss it and realise how much you love the sport.
“So next year, I’ll be back bigger and better – no fear.”
CIRCLE SHOWDOWN SURE TO PROVIDE FIREWORKS
Shamera Sterling will have to prove she deserves the title of best keeper in the league if the Thunderbirds wish to secure a win against powerhouse Fever and keep their finals hopes alive.
With Sterling lining up against fellow Jamaican and sharp shooter Jhaniele Fowler she will have to rely on more than her height advantage and uncanny ability to secure the rebounds in tonight’s clash.
After the first six rounds Fowler stacks up as the best shooter in the league with a 95 per cent shot accuracy and 344 goals to her name.
At 196cm she is one of the few shooters in the league taller than Sterling (190cm).
Sterling claims the title of the toughest keeper to beat in the circle, sitting in the top three across the league for intercepts, deflections and defensive rebounds.
Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst ranked both as among the best in the world at their positions.
“It is going to be a great tussle and one for the spectators to have a look at,” Obst said.
“We are really preparing to help (Sterling) as best as we can.”
Obst said it would come down to Thunderbirds’ ability to execute the game plan they have worked so hard on this week.
“We get the ball every second time, we have to make sure that we stick to our processes as best we can and score off as many centre passes as we can.
“Then the balls that we do win, we have to make sure we cherish that and put that one through the ring as well.”
Despite Thunder’s strong defence they have lost the past four rounds, winning just their first two games of the season.
Another loss will place them two wins behind the top four and make their race to the finals a very difficult one.
Fever sit second on the ladder having dropped just two games this year.
They are coming off a one point loss to Giants and will be determined to get back in the winner’s circle.
Obst said there was no such thing as an easy game in Super Netball.
“Obviously we would like to have turned a couple of those results around, all of our games have been pretty tight in all honesty,” she said.
“Every team is beatable, the beauty of the competition is that the teams are so evenly spread and every game you go into it, you have to do your best as the teams are so even this year.”
Thunderbirds will take on Fever at Netball SA Stadium at 7pm (AEST).
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