Super Netball hit by fresh controversy as scoreboard chaos descends into farce
Australian netball has another controversy on its hands after scoreboard blunder on Saturday had a game descend into farcical scenes.
The Giants have finally earned a breakthrough Super Netball win with an 86-80 extra time triumph against the Lightning in one of the most extraordinary games in recent time.
The round 5 game descended into a farce after a scoring error at the end of regulation time led to a 40-minute period of confusion and disagreement over the result.
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The teams traded goals through an exciting final term, but an error on the scoring bench led to about a 40-minute delay until extra time.
Sunshine Coast believed they had won 71-70, celebrated accordingly and left the court, but the Giants believed regulation time ended at 71-71.
We are aware of a scoreboard error at the end of tonight's match. After a score review, the game between Lightning and GIANTS has been declared a draw (71-71). The players are on court warming up and we are heading into extra time.
— Suncorp Super Netball (@SuperNetball) May 11, 2024
Officials scrambled to solve the issue, and as they did the teams took different tacts.
The Giants stayed on the court, stayed warm and ready to play believing there was more to come, while the Lightning players were in the rooms and umpires reportedly nowhere to be found.
“We actually protested at the time the score was changed,” said Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald during an interview during the confusion.
Watch the scoreboard chaos unfold in the video player above
“The players were aware it was a draw, and when we came off we were a little bit bewildered. I understand from a review it’s been confirmed.
“I don’t want to criticise (the Lightning), I just feel … I would’ve thought there’d be something in place that we would know exactly what was going to happen here.
A 10-minute warm up will begin once both teams return to the court. There will then be two five-minute halves of extra time. https://t.co/sLz5nPR9Oi
— GIANTS Netball (@GIANTS_Netball) May 11, 2024
“It’s been a while now that it has been confirmed it was a draw but no decision has been made and we’re unaware of what might happen.”
Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds said the team was told they had won, with the one-goal “win” agreed upon by a team official, but they were forced to refocus ahead of another 10 minutes.
Reynolds said the team would have played the final moments differently had the actual score been on display.
What they said 🫣 https://t.co/Of9GVHJGQp
— Sunshine Coast Lightning (@sc_lightning) May 11, 2024
The Lightning coach also called for a review, expressing concern for players’ welfare in a team which has already dealt with three separate ACL injuries.
It took 35 minutes for the Lightning, who were told they had won the game, to re-emerge from the dressing room and walk towards the court for a 10-minute warm-up period.
The Giants came out hot, dominating the first period of extra time and building a big lead before coming home with a six-goal win.
A clearly upset Lightning captain Steph Fretwell praised the Giants for the way they attacked the extra period, but said her side would have handled the last plays of regulation time differently had the score been correct.
“You play to the scoreboard, so when we were at 30 seconds our biggest thing was keep possession,” she said.
“If we knew it was a draw we probably would’ve gone for a goal, but when you play to the scoreboard and the scoreboard is wrong …
“We would’ve played that final 30 seconds differently.
“Credit to the Giants, they came out in extra time and killed it and we weren’t up to it.
“We go back and hopefully there’s no scoreboard error in weeks to come.”
News Corp netball writer Emma Greenwood wrote on X: “This is an absolute debacle. Best competition in the world and no one knows what the score is.”
Speaking on the ABC’s Offsiders program on Sunday, broadcaster Corbin Middlemas said: “It is a sport that feels like they handle a crisis worse than any other in Australian sport right now.
“Whether it’s the pay deal, the Gina Rinehart situation with the sponsorship and then in this scenario. So professional sport at the end of the day, when you poke a camera at it, you’re putting on a show for the audience.
“As a viewer, I watched the entire 50 minutes. The television coverage is excellent. They do a great job and yet the game itself let themselves down considerably.
“Nobody is sitting through that delay. There’s two AFL games on. For 26 minutes, despite the best efforts of the television broadcast, they were given no information by the league as to what is happening, whether the game is restarting.”
WHAT’S UP DOC?
Talked up early as premiership favourites, injury has played a role in Lightning’s lowly place on the Super Netball ladder.
Captain Steph Fretwell is still below her best after suffering an ankle injury and bone bruising in Round 2, Ava Black sustained a season-ending ankle injury before Round 4, Courtney Bruce and Mahalia Cassidy are out in Round 5 with calf and ankle injuries respectively.
SANCTION INACTION
Jamie-Lee Price tested World Netball’s new sanction system with a heavy hit on Leesa Mi Mi, but only received a penalty to stand out of play.
She followed it up a few minutes later with a hard contest against her Diamonds’ captain Watson, but escaped without warning.
Watson appeared to get frustrated with the close attention being paid to her from Price and wing defence, Sam Winders, and doled out some risky return contacts.
But, unlike Price, the calls went Watson’s way, much to the displeasure of the Sydney crowd.
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