Brains v Brawn: Height not the only defence against towering Super Netball newbies

One of the most intelligent players in the game has broken down the the gameplan and revealed the best way to battle Super Netball’s new generation of towering goalers.

New Firebirds import Mary Cholhok. Picture Lachie Millard

One of the world’s most savvy defenders says height is not the only answer to Super Netball’s towering shooting threats and a collective mindset is the key to overcoming the likes of incoming stars Mary Cholhok and Grace Nweke.

West Coast Fever defender Fran Williams, who is the England captain and regarded as one of the most intelligent players in the game, knows a pinpoint feed to the 201cm Cholhok or 193cm Nweke will beat most one-on-one defence.

But with the super shot also in play and shooters unable to anchor themselves under the post for the entire match, the collective effort of each team’s defensive unit will become crucial, especially if defenders are lacking height.

At 184cm, or just a touch more than six feet in the old language, Williams, who is a Step One ambassador and shareholder, is tall in the general population.

But in the world of Super Netball, she can give away 10cm or more to many of her rivals.

Fran Williams of the Fever during the round two Super Netball match between West Coast Fever and Sunshine Coast Lightning. Photo: Getty Images

So do her Fever teammates, Diamond Sunday Aryang (182cm) and her sister Ruth Aryang (184cm), who has become a member of the full-time list this season.

The Fever has significant height through Jamaican goalkeeper Kadie-Ann Dehaney (192cm) but games won’t be won and lost in a tale of the tape.

“I feel like height’s just one element of it,” Williams said.

“The super shot adds that whole other dynamic as well to the game and as a defensive unit we will want to be really targeting how effective we can be in that period.

“That can really nullify, I guess, the damage certain shooters can do.

“You’ve just got to work together as a whole back four, really, to be able to turn over ball.

“When it comes to one-on-one contesting with tall shooters, you can be five-foot-something or six-foot-something but if the ball’s put in the right place, no defender’s going to be able to get to it, whatever height they are, because that’s just the nature of our game now.”

NSW Swifts import Grace Nweke, one of the highest-profile - and tallest - players in the world at the moment. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

Williams said the key was to exercise team smarts to beat the whole attacking line-up before the tall shooters were isolated.

“We all offer something different and we do like to speak about building pressure together and that ability to work together to slowly over time break down the patterns of your opponents,” she said.

“I love the tactics that go behind netball and trying to adapt the style of play you put out against that specific opposition or that specific style of play.”

Williams had a short runway into her first Super Netball season coming off the back of the poisonous pay dispute that held up contracting, as well as international commitments that delayed her arrival into Perth.

However, her integration into a team that has several new faces was seamless.

“I feel like in the first season, you’ve just got so much that’s new and you’re trying to absorb playing at this intensity and this level of professionalism … but also moving countries and having to integrate myself into a new city here in Perth and meeting a new team,” she said.

“It was a lot all at once but I loved and embraced the challenge. I feel like I settled really quickly in Perth and the team at Fever, both staff and players, were super welcoming.”

Fran Williams in action against the Vixens, who beat the Fever by a single goal to progress to last year’s Super Netball grand final. Photo: Getty Images

Williams said not being the only newbie – the Fever had six new players in its contracted 10 last season – “felt like we were creating a new culture within the club”.

After setting the pace early in the season, the Fever missed reaching the grand final by just a goal and Williams said her side would be a contender again this year.

“There’s still consistency within our squad this year, which is a good place to be, because it means that you’re not starting afresh,” she said.

“I think that puts us in a really strong position (but) I feel like every team will be in a similar boat because there’s not been that much change within the league, so that’s only going to make for more exciting, more competitive games.”

Originally published as Brains v Brawn: Height not the only defence against towering Super Netball newbies