Net Gains 2023: Maddy Turner stars in Swifts win over Giants
Maddy Turner was the hard-luck story of the recently announced Diamonds squad, yet the Swift showed out in their Sydney derby win, as the squad cemented its place as a true contender.
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Has Australia finally got one back on the internationals after Matilda Garrett’s selection in the Diamonds squad last week?
Much has been made over the years of Super Netball’s role in helping improve the standard of other nations and whether Netball Australia is doing itself a disservice by having no restriction on the number of imports in the league.
But Garrett’s rate of improvement shows how the system is working both ways.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds defender works alongside Jamaican Shamera Sterling – arguably the form goalkeeper in world netball – every day in training, as well as her Sunshine Girls teammate, versatile goal defence/wing defence LaTanya Wilson.
Before heading south, Garrett played at Collingwood, where she shadowed England ‘keeper Geva Mentor.
There can be no suggestion the internationals alone are responsible for Garrett’s success – the now 24-year-old has come through netball’s various pathway programs and was an Australian U21 representative.
But just as the internationals have thrived in the best netball competition in the world, Garrett has picked up a few tricks from her teammates.
“I think every defender that you play with, you definitely take a little bit from them,” Garrett said.
“Obviously both Latty (Wilson) and Shammy (Sterling) are phenomenal defenders and so it’s great to have competition within your team.
“At the start of the season I didn’t know whether I would play much game time or wouldn’t but I wanted to make that decision hard for Tania (Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst) and I just wanted to do absolutely everything I could to just keep putting my hand up to show that I wanted to be on the court.
“It’s awesome playing with the likes of Latty and Shammy and even Hannah (Petty), they 100 per cent make me a better player.”
The Jamaicans – the Diamonds’ opponents in last year’s Commonwealth Games final and the team expected to be among their greatest obstacles for World Cup gold – have seven athletes playing in the Super Netball competition and honing their skills against the best in the world.
ARE SWIFTS TITLE THREATS?
Pretty much all the title talk this season has been around defending champions the Fever, and challengers the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
But the third-placed Swifts are quietly clawing their way up the ladder, thanks to three wins in a row to end the first round.
They haven’t all been convincing but if they can maintain their place in the four, they’re going to be particularly tough to beat in the finals.
One of only two clubs in Super Netball history to have won two titles, the Swifts have experienced combinations across court that know how to perform under pressure.
With Romelda Aiken George now bedded in at goal shooter while Sam Wallace continues her recovery from a knee reconstruction, expect the Swifts to continue to thrive, especially if they can halt the losses of focus that are hurting them each game.
“I think we can create those big leads and then we just let them slip back, so that’s something we’ve got to keep working on,” midcourter Tayla Fraser said.
“There’s bits where we do really well and then there’s bits where we lose our focus for a second.”
Coach Briony Akle said her team needed to continue to treasure possession in the second round if they were to maintain in finals contention.
“It’s certainly true that when you’ve got a five-goal lead in this league, you’ve got to be disciplined and stick to the game plan,” Akle said.
“It’s going back to being disciplined and doing the simple things really well.”
TURNER’S TOUGH RESPONSE
Maddy Turner responded in the best possible fashion to her axing from the Diamonds squad at the weekend, playing an integral part in the Swifts’ derby win against the Giants.
While her co-captain Maddy Proud was named MVP for her performance that included 20 goal assists, 22 feeds with an attempt and two gains, going head-to-head with fellow Diamonds squad member Jamie-Lee Price, Turner played a crucial part in the win.
She set the tone in defence early in the match and finished with five gains, including four intercepts, after what would have been a personally crushing week after missing selection.
It surprised few who know her though.
“If anyone knows Turner, she sees everything in a positive light and I think her positive light tonight would have been going out and doing a job for her club and wearing that red dress,” Swifts coach Briony Akle said.
“She’ll fight, she’ll support those girls in that squad and wish them all the best for the World Cup.”
It was a familiar theme across the weekend, with Fever pair Alice Teague-Neeld and Sasha Glasgow, who were also in contention for selection, turning in strong games in West Coast’s 74-64 victory over the Sunshine Coast.
Midcourt ace Teague-Neeld finished with 33 goal assists and 37 feeds at wing attack, while Glasgow – who is also eligible for England – may have played a minor shooting role compared to circle partner Jhaniele Fowler (65 of 65) but her work in front of the her was outstanding.
THIRLBY INTERESTED ONLOOKER
England coach Jess Thirlby has been an interested onlooker at Round 7 matches, checking in on her charges in Sydney and Adelaide in the Swifts-Giants derby and Thunderbirds-Magpies clash.
It’s a big trip to make but a crucial one for the Roses coach, who will not regain the Australian members of her squad until just days before the World Cup.
Thirlby may have lost a veteran during the week with Giants captain Jo Harten announcing her international retirement but the performance of Eleanor Cardwell in leading the second-placed Adelaide Thunderbirds to another win would no doubt have lifted her spirits.
Thirlby has not been surprised by Cardwell’s seamless Super Netball transition.
“Look, it hasn’t surprised me. I think when I came into the (England) post a couple of years ago, El was on the fringes of that really successful team and she needed her time to shine and I think that her growth over the last couple of years has been so impressive,” Thirlby said.
“She’s such a robust player mentally. She was a defender back in the day, so I think that serves her really well in the shooting circle now.
“And I think that’s why her mentality in SSN (Super Netball) in what is her debut season has really impressed me - but I don’t think it was unexpected.”
Thirlby would also have been impressed by veteran defender Geva Mentor, who was outstanding in a robust contest against Cardwell, finishing with nine gains including five intercepts.
Harten expanded on the reasons for her retirement on Fox Netball’s Pivot program on Sunday night, saying she had not taken the decision lightly.
“I felt like the time was right for me,” Harten said.
“I didn’t want to go into a World Cup, pending selection and not be able to give 100 per cent physically and mentally, so I made the really tough call to step away from my England career.”
Harten underlined the fact that it was her decision though and she wasn’t pushed.
“My knee isn’t a 20-year old’s knee anymore, it’s a 34-year-old’s knee and I had surgery 14-15 weeks ago.
“It’s very different playing one game each week in the Suncorp Super Netball to playing seven games in 10 days (at the World Cup).
“I thought about myself and my own performance but also the England team and I really had to put them first and put my hand up and say I probably wasn’t going to be able to play at 100 per cent.”
FEVER ON TRACK FOR TWO IN A ROW
West Coast coach Dan Ryan may have banned talk of back-to-back Super Netball premierships in the pre-season but that won’t stop talk about his team being the ones to beat this season.
The Fever bounced back from their last-gasp loss to the Adelaide Thunderbirds last week to beat Sunshine Coast Lightning by 10 goals on Sunday afternoon to sit at the top of the table after the end of the first full round of fixtures.
While they have had plenty of close games - including one-goal wins over both the Vixens and Giants in the opening two weeks of the season - winning has become a habit for the Fever and they’re not about to let go of the title.
While things are looking up for the Fever, they’re not as rosy for the Magpies and Giants - both finalists last year - who only won twice in the opening round and need to reverse their fortunes in the second round if they are to make the post-season again.
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