Lightning eyes on future after Super Netball title win over Fever

Sunshine Coast Lightning beat West Coast Fever 62-59 in the Super Netball grand final.

Sunshine Coast Lightning celebrate victory in the Super Netball grand final. Picture: AAP

Sunshine Coast Lightning coach Noeline Taurua hopes her star-studded squad will stay together after watching them beat West Coast Fever 62-59 in the Super Netball grand final.

In a topsy-turvy title decider at Perth Arena, the Lightning overcame a seven-goal deficit in the second term to shoot out to a four-goal lead in the last quarter.

In front of a record crowd of 13,722, the Fever fought back to take the lead with less than six minutes remaining,.

However, in a final surge the Lightning scored six of the final eight goals to secure their second straight title.

Former Fever star Caitlin Bassett was player of the match for her 45-goal haul, while teammate Steph Wood overcame a heavy collision with the goalpost to finish with 17 assists and 17 goals.

“There is a little bit of pain there, but it’s a grand final. You don’t want to sit out this occasion,” Wood said.

Goal defence Karla Pretorius did an excellent job on Fever veteran Nat Medhurst (six goals) but West Coast goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler was near unstoppable with 53 goals from 55 attempts.

The Lightning had to win the title the hard way, losing the first three games of the season before finishing fourth.

Sunshine Coast then beat the Firebirds and Giants during the ­finals before defeating the Fever on enemy territory.

But their hopes of a hat-trick rest largely with list management. Every player in the competition is now off contract due to the new collective bargaining agreement and the Lightning face a battle to keep their squad together.

The future of coach Taurua is also up in the air, with rumours swirling she could become the new head coach of New Zealand.

Taurua says she will consider her future in the coming weeks but hopes the bulk of the Lightning squad will recommit.

“The big thing for us now is contracting,” Taurua said. “Like all franchises, it’s pretty hard. I’m hoping a lot of the players we have had over the past two years will want to remain with Lightning, ­especially after that win.”

Lightning skipper Geva Mentor said she was “absolutely flabbergasted” by the result.

“I can’t believe what we just managed to achieve this season, all the way through,” she said.

“It was just so tough and there wasn’t much in that circle that we could pull the ball in for.

“I don’t know if I did an awful lot back there, but I am just so happy for the girls that are in front of me.

“Thankfully I play a team sport and I got help on court.”

The result means Western Australia’s 22-year wait for a national netball title continues. But the future at least looks promising, in stark contrast with the days of Perth Orioles and the early existence of the Fever.

West Coast coach Stacey Marinkovich is confident she can keep the bulk of her squad together.

“This is just the beginning for us,” Marinkovich said. “We’ve come from seventh (last year) to playing a grand final and in some parts we were seven minutes away from taking a title.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the brand of netball we’re playing.”

Fever captain Courtney Bruce was confident a golden era lies ahead. “It’s our first-ever experience playing in a grand final for a lot of us and it’s a big learning curve,” Bruce said.

“We’re going to take a lot from this and I promise you next season we’re going to come back firing.”

AAP