Super Netball 2023: Collingwood Magpies captains call for clarity around ‘bitterly disappointing’ decision
Super Netball’s inability to deal with controversy is ‘staggering’, as players call for change amid another review into the calamitous weekend round of matches, Emma Greenwood writes.
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Collingwood’s Super Netball players have stood up to fill the information vacuum coming from Netball Australia headquarters after a calamitous weekend round of matches.
Magpies co-captains Ash Brazill and Geva Mentor, both internationals and two of the most experienced players in the league, have voiced their disappointment at a lack of transparency around issues in two games at the weekend, including their derby clash against the Melbourne Vixens which ended in controversy on Sunday.
The Vixens sealed a thrilling 62-61 come-from-behind win on Sunday after goaler Mwai Kumwenda sank a super shot after the buzzer for a victory that will stand despite Melbourne taking two centre passes in succession in the dying stages of the match.
Already reeling following farcical scenes in Adelaide when advertising decals were ripped up just over an hour before the scheduled match start - an incident that was followed by a power outage that eventually caused the Thunderbirds’ match against the NSW Swifts to be abandoned - Netball Australia announced on Monday a review would be launched into the “error” in the Pies-Vixens match.
“Under the Suncorp Super Netball rules of the game, the result of the match stands with the Melbourne Vixens winning 62-61.”
The league had already announced on Sunday a review would be held into the two separate incidents in Adelaide.
But silence from headquarters on Monday was staggering, with no one available to speak to the incidents, officials declaring there would be no comment made until the reviews were complete.
Super Netball markets itself as the world’s best competition but its inability to deal with controversy is staggering.
Contrast that with similar situations in the NRL or AFL, where officials are made available to media to explain contentious situations to fans.
The score, time and centre pass management is FUNDAMENTAL to our game.
— Ashleigh Brazill (@ash_braz) March 26, 2023
This is bitterly disappointing. https://t.co/uGL8K9LHPG
NRL head of football elite competitions Graham Annesley holds a weekly briefing to review decisions made each round, while AFL GM of competition management Laura Kane spoke on Saturday morning, following the power outage in the Lions-Demons match in Brisbane on Friday night.
In the absence of an official voice, Collingwood’s co-captains took to social media on Monday to raise concerns about the processes in place in Super Netball.
When the official Suncorp Super Media account announced the review and the fact the result would stand, co-captain Brazill responded on social media, voicing her frustration.
“The score, time and centre pass management is FUNDAMENTAL to our game,” she posted to her Twitter account.
“This is bitterly disappointing.”
The Vixens were awarded consecutive centre passes in the dying stages of the game, with the second one allowing them possession that ended with Kumwenda trying up the scores with less than two minutes remaining on the clock.
While they regained the lead from the following possession, the Vixens were able to hit back in a thrilling finish to take the match.
Coach Nicole Richardson attempted to draw the umpire’s attention to the error immediately following the mistake, while goaler Sophie Garbin also addressed the issue on court to no avail.
Brazill’s co-captain Geva Mentor also raised issues around the ruling, and the failure of processes to keep pace with the professionalism of the Super Netball competition and its athletes.
Neither Mentor, the most experienced player in the league with more than 200 national league games under her belt, nor Brazill, blamed the umpire for the error.
Let’s make our sport and league better!
— Geva Mentor CBE (@GevaMentor) March 27, 2023
@SuperNetball@NetballAust
For the sake of all stakeholders 👊🽠pic.twitter.com/nm51Y0DRn7
Mentor’s post referred to the issues in Adelaide as well as the Victorian derby, saying both had “shone a spotlight” on Super Netball, the game itself and “where female sport is placed amongst other codes”.
“If the rules need adapting - change them,” Mentor said.
“If the umpires need more support - provide it.
“The game at the elite level is evolving, but the framework around it is not allowing for the growth.
“How do we take the game we love to the next level?
“Let’s have these conversations to ensure what happened on the weekend doesn’t occur again.
“As the results in Round 2 will not define the particular teams involved, but their placing in finals will be affected.
“All eyes are on our league and our professionalism! Let’s make the game better!”
Richardson was fuming on Sunday following the game, calling the process a “fiasco” that had cost her team the match.
But she was also realistic in the aftermath, realising the result would not change.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow but it’s something that we’re just going to have to get on with and focus our attention to next week to the Fever,” she said.
“It’s frustrating. Obviously we had two centre passes against us so we tried to address that in the moment - they didn’t want anything to do with it - and it’s something that Netball Australia and Super Netball are going to have to look into because you shouldn’t have to lose a game like that.
“(But) our message is that we need to continue to do what we’re doing. We’ve played an exciting brand of netball in the first two weeks.”
SHAMBOLIC WEEKEND OF NETBALL AS CLUBS DEMAND ANSWERS
Umpire error is something that occurs in every sport but when there is an obvious issue that can be amended immediately, it should happen.
That’s essentially Collingwood coach Nicole Richardson’s major issue with the blunder that handed the Melbourne Vixens consecutive centre passes in the dying stages of Sunday’s match that allowed international goaler Mwai Kumwenda to sink a matchwinning super shot after the siren.
Kumwenda’s goal gave the Vixens a thrilling 62-61 come-from-behind victory over the Collingwood Magpies in the final match of the round on Sunday.
But it soon emerged that umpires had erred in allowing the Vixens consecutive centre passes in the dying stages of the match.
The Pies immediately recognised the error and players and coach Nicole Richardson attempted to appeal, arguing they should have had possession given centre passes alternate during the game.
But the match went on, leaving Richardson ropeable given she had been appealing the decision from the sideline and courtside officials also knew it was the wrong call.
“What happened in the last minute and a half is an absolute fiasco. You cannot have a result like that,” Richardson said.
“This is an elite level competition. You have an automated scoreboard that tells you whose centre pass it is.
“You have a bench who knows exactly whose centre pass it is, but the bench do not have the power to do anything about it. That has cost us the game and that is why I am angry.”
The score, time and centre pass management is FUNDAMENTAL to our game.
— Ashleigh Brazill (@ash_braz) March 26, 2023
This is bitterly disappointing. https://t.co/uGL8K9LHPG
Richardson said her side had been “completely robbed”.
“We would have had an opportunity to go two goals up or an opportunity to starve them of the ball and take some time off the clock,” she said of the tactical ramifications of the error.
“And they shot after the siren anyway.”
Super Netball markets itself as the best league in the world, but without a mechanism in place for immediate intervention from a “third umpire” or review official for such howlers, it leaves itself open to ridicule.
WHO KNEW WHAT, WHEN?
Netball South Australia and the Adelaide Thunderbirds need to answer crucial questions about the decision to sign off on Netball SA Stadium after a botched court preparation ultimately led to the farcical Super Netball match abandonment against the NSW Swifts.
The match between the Thunderbirds and Swifts was eventually abandoned after a power outage at a high voltage transformer near the Netball SA stadium caused a blackout at halftime, with advice the problem would take hours to resolve.
But the game started an hour after the opening centre pass was scheduled following the decision late in the day to remove the advertising “decals” given the surface difference between them and the rest of the court.
Netball Australia released a statement on Sunday saying it was reviewing both incidents.
But who knew what and when?
As with most inquiries, it’s the key question facing those looking into the farcical abandoned match which left the teams splitting the points, something that could be crucial to their finals hopes later this season.
It’s understood Netball South Australia was happy with the court surface on Friday – a day ahead of the match – before issues were raised by the independent match delegate on game day.
Why it took the independent delegate – a Netball Australia employee – to raise the issue is likely to be examined in any inquiry given the delay ultimately led to the inability of the game to be finished within the allotted time window.
Farcicalhttps://t.co/WabQG0ZCBwhttps://t.co/MHdGFIlbSp
— Emily Benammar (@EmilyBenammar) March 25, 2023
The stadium has an unfortunate history with players suffering significant knee injuries, and any issue should have been acted on immediately.
A Swifts source said officials had been informed the surface was “unsafe” and the club was unwilling to allow players on until the issue with the decals was rectified.
A statement released by Netball South Australia said the body and Netball Australia were reviewing two “unrelated issues” that caused “disruption” to the match.
“With repair crews expected to take several hours to restore power, the match was not able to be completed in the allocated time frame, so Netball Australia declared the game a draw with points shared between the two teams,” the statement said.
“Earlier in the night, the game was delayed by one hour due to an issue with the playing surface – specifically a slight difference between the surface of the sponsorship decals and the court itself. This was rectified and play went ahead without issue.
“As a result, Netball Australia and Netball SA are now reviewing the process regarding the laying of surface decals by a Netball Australia contractor and the laying of surface lacquer by Netball SA.”
If fault is found with the court preparation, it wouldn’t surprise to see the Swifts appeal the point-share decision.
NSW Shooter Helen Housby said on Fox Sports’ Pivot program the result had the potential to impact the season of both the Swifts and Thunderbirds.
“I think if it does impact either ours or the Thunderbirds’ season it will be quite disappointing,” Housby said.
“Obviously, we’d love to replay the game and do it properly.”
GIANTS’ HARTEN SOUL
Didn’t the Giants look an entirely different side with Jo Harten back on court?
Granted, they were also without Maddie Hay last week and her injection into the midcourt against the West Coast Fever to play her 50th Super Netball game was a massive boost for Julie Fitzgerald’s troops.
But Harten gives the largely young side a massive injection of confidence on court and her never-say-die attitude rubs off on all around her.
The Giants looked ordinary when trounced by the Lightning in round 1 and while they were definitely aided by the super shot on Sunday, their effort to push defending premiers West Coast Fever to the limit in a stirring final-quarter comeback was as much a testament to Harten’s fiercely competitive nature as her teammates’ response to her rallying call.
Her personal battle with Courtney Bruce was outstanding as well.
There’s no love lost between the Giants and Fever – or Harten and Bruce – on court at least, and the contest was a thriller.
LIKE
The return of Karla Pretorius has been a boon for Sunshine Coast Lightning and they were always going to be a different team from the one that claimed the wooden spoon last season.
But their chances of pushing back into the finals will rest mostly on the shoulders of their midcourters being able to link their reliable international bookends.
They have great experience in former Diamond Laura Scherian, but it’s been the performance of their young guns that will count, and they’ve stood up in the first two rounds to show that they are determined to help the team make the transition.
The showing of Annie Miller, in particular, over the opening two rounds is a strong sign the Lightning have the cattle coming through to get back into the finals mix.
DISLIKE
Plenty of bouquets last week for the umpire’s intervention in the Vixens-Fever game that forced Melbourne defender Emily Mannix off court to be checked by a doctor after an on-court head clash.
Consistency will be the key if the Sports Related Concussion policy is not to become confusing for players and teams in its implementation, though.
The Lightning’s Karla Pretorius certainly did not suffer an obvious concussion in her team’s clash against the Firebirds on Saturday night but when she fell to the court and was landed on by Firebirds midcourter Lara Dunkley, she was slow to rise – as Mannix was last week – and while there was no head clash, her head did hit the court even if it was not, thankfully, the first point of contact.
Just how and when the game is stopped will be watched with great interest.
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