Live stream: Devon face Tasmanian Netball League big guns Northern Hawks

Ash Mawer hit 60 or more goals for the fourth time this season as TNL pacesetters Northern Hawks made short work of Devon’s challenge. Catch the U19 and Opens replays.

Devon had no answer to the Ash Mawer conundrum as Tasmanian Netball League leaders Northern Hawks continued on their unbeaten way with an 80-35 success on Saturday.

Mawer scored 60 goals from 65 attempts to take her season tally to 546 from 10 games as the Hawks found another gear in the second quarter to make sure the result was safe and secure long before halftime.

It’s the fourth time this season the Hawks have hit 80 or more points. They have now scored 748 in 10 games. To put this amazing feat in context, second-place Cavaliers have scored 520.

Hawks v Devon (19&U) — Tasmanian Netball League Round 11

For the opening half, Devon stayed close to the U19 TNL ladder leaders.

They even won a tightly-contested second quarter 13-12 to trail by just four at the main break.

But then the Northern Hawks slipped into gear, took the third quarter 14-5 and cruised to a 49-34 victory that maintains their two-point advantage at the top of the table.

Devon remain anchored in fifth spot with just two wins to their name, but they have shown at times this year they can match it with the big guns.

PREVIEW

While they may do the most travelling out of any TNL side, Devon coach Helen Payne believes Netball Tasmania should look at extending the fixtures next season.

Set to face the undefeated Northern Hawks on Saturday, the competition’s only north-west coast side are required to shoulder plenty of road trips to both Hobart and Launceston throughout the year purely on the basis of their geographical location.

They will again hit the road on Saturday to face the Hawks at the Silverdome, with both the Opens and Under 19s games LIVE STREAMED on KommunityTV from midday.

Check out the full LIVE STREAM draw below.

While the competition running as a 14-round, two-byes per team season since 2023 means her side now chalks up less kilometres, Payne said fast-tracking the development of young players through more games can’t be underestimated.

“I’m actually a supporter of a slightly longer season,” Payne said.

“I don’t feel that the season has been long enough to get probably sufficient development into the team. It feels really short to me. You then have team byes and competition breaks inside the fixture which doesn’t allow for too much flow to continue to develop your game skills week-to-week.

“Yes, there are difficulties associated with a three-round season, and particularly for Devon because we end up going to Hobart a lot more, but I think there’s also gains (to be had).

“I’m always about the development of my players and I think that we would have seen bigger or greater developments in a longer season.

“I know that it wasn’t to be this year, but I think hopefully next year we’ll be going back to a longer season again because I think that 12 games is not enough, particularly for the amount of time and effort, the coaching, the training and the money that we spend.”

Saturday’s clash against the reigning premiers will be the second time Devon have faced the task of knocking off the competition’s powerhouse this season.

But after going down to fellow 2023 grand finalists Cavaliers by just eight goals last week, Payne is sending the message to her side that they have nothing to lose against another highly fancied opponent.

Helen Payne is a supporter of an extended TNL season.

“I want to get all my players on the court to get them experience this week of playing a top team,” she said.

“It’s really good for their development and it’s a measuring stick. So we’ve set some goals for ourselves and if we reach those goals then we will be really proud of ourselves and I think that’s the most important thing.

“We think that they’re achievable and we’ve got nothing to lose. We’re not the ones that have a target on our back, so to speak. So we’re going to go in there hopefully playing pretty freely, enjoying the experience of playing the top team and learning from it.”