Andrew Kennedy

Andrew Kennedy2025-02-10T20:29:52+10:00

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  • Andrew Kennedy
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      “The Queensland Firebirds and Sunshine Coast Lightning’s Suncorp Super Netball rivalry will ignite in 2025 with the Gold Coast to host the pre-season Suncorp Spirit Cup for the first time…. held at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre in Carrara on Friday, March 7.

      This marks the fourth edition of the Suncorp Spirit Cup, with previous matchups thrilling sold-out crowds in Mackay, Toowoomba, and Townsville.” Tickets via ticketek

      https://firebirds.net.au/news/gold-coast-host-2025-suncorp-spirit-cup

      Andrew Kennedy
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        Post count: 234

        Heya @TB and @Skyris, Walmsley did play for most (if not all) of the second half at GS, and a cameo at GA in the first half. I feel she is more available than Salmon and obviously more experienced at this level, but I wouldn’t say it’s a whole class above. Walmsley isn’t as agile as Salmon, perhaps Salmon was learning quickly with coaching and some confidence, maybe also the cocky freshness of youth? I do remember she (Salmon) was one of the players that smiled the most.

        Regarding the defenders who I THINK were Hall (?), Fowler (??), and Burley, I know they aren’t the same person, but the way the changes were made (given I didn’t know the first two at all) and the game being a week ago, there’s no way for me to give a reliable report, except I wrote down at some point that one of them ??Hall looked buggered at GD, and she was replaced soon after. Burley was good. None of them looked out of place, but unsurprisingly Burger and Jackson were by far the best combo at the back.

        Remember, this was the third day in a row of a full match, and we aren’t privy to the experiments and tactics the coaches had already used, nor the form, growth, and consistency of the players across the week.

        Andrew Kennedy
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          Post count: 234

          @WeWood, of the four players (shooters) you mentioned, only Salmon was there, and in fact she was the starting GS. Saviour Tui wasn’t there and I know what she looks like (unlike the defenders). G Heffernan would actually have been an ideal person to trial at GA as we all know. Wilson was ONLY used at GA, she did fine and has slightly improved her GA courtcraft (I’ve always liked Wilson so I hope she keeps getting opportunities).

          I think Salmon was fine – I have seen her in ANZP, just a glimpse, so I had no pre-formed opinion. In the first few minutes I felt like she wasn’t moving or pulling the ball in with authority, looked a bit nervous, however this did improve, so she was sometimes an option. I also think the feeders in the first half were making so many errors with the touch/finesse on the feed that it didn’t give Salmon the consistent service that would’ve helped her get her flow. Klau had a great game so it’s hard to shine against someone that amazing. In particular, Salmon’s accuracy was reliable, she strung together a lot of shots with no misses.

          Andrew Kennedy
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            For NZ, they definitely got a lot out of this week-long camp in Australia: bonding, backing up for tough matches daily, being away for a long period, newbies getting their chance to integrate and learn, experience the Aussie style, everything

            Undeniably the best player was Karin Burger; I have always been a huge fan and she’s just so intimidating by her presence; that’s not to say Jackson and Heffernan weren’t also good, they both had quite a few highlights; Ekenasio was also great to watch, so safe and such gorgeous shots.

            It really seemed like a midcourter trial game; there were way too many turnovers going across the attacking transverse and on the feed; sometimes it was just a silly choice, and sometimes it lacked finesse; obviously Swifts did create this pressure, and the Kiwis will benefit from further exposure to The Australian style (esp because Klau was there most of the time).

            In the second half we saw the O’Brien WA/Earle C combo looking better, as IMHO they actually did the basics well – they got in front and were available, they got circle edge, they took an extra half second to select the feed, and it really worked! You don’t always have to release the ball instantly. Toeava had turnovers, and her presence created turnovers, as she mostly had Walmsley as her target and she’s just not Nweke and never will be.

            I’d say with the players available the best midcourt was O’Brien/Gordon/Heffernan, but I would accept O’Brien/Heff/Burger. I prefer Burger at GD. I think Burley was the best young defender, but she is also better at GD than GK, especially against Nweke.

            Andrew Kennedy
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              Post count: 234

              Oh, I was going to say a bit more about Nweke – she is a brilliant target; Swifts DID use her height but DID NOT generally lob the ball from distance; it was very notable when Lambden did a goal assist from the centre third, only once; Nweke was often facing off with Kelly Jackson (nee Jury) so you can understand not lobbing; when Housby is there, she is of course the queen of the shooter-to-shooter pass, and Nweke does move and does have good reflexes for the tricky stuff, which will make this a unique combination and hard to defend; Fawns didn’t play all that well nor all that poorly, she was fine, definitely inclined to try too hard at GA and can cause turnovers.

              Andrew Kennedy
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                I can answer questions if anyone wants to know. My takeaways:

                Swifts:
                – Housby/Nweke combo is exciting, it’s already brilliant and has lots of room to improvement; Swifts style of short-sharp-flat passing and getting the the circle edge is something Nweke has to adapt to; in the beginning of the match she moved to early at times, or moved to the wrong lead (the lead BEFORE the one heading to her)
                – Hadley is amazing all over the court and will be hard to replace at WA; I was impressed with everything she did, but particularly finding her way on first phase; Gorman-Brown was my favourite backup WA for this particular day; Simmons is super athletic, she has always had a different kind of timing and change of pace, more work required there to take advantage of her properly and also make her more like a Swift; at the moment I’d have LGB/Hadley/Lambden, but the change to Hadley/Simmons/Smith is a good backup (and more defensive); Simmons did improve when used for more minutes rather than being switched on and off, combos have room to build, in the first section there were turnovers around her sometimes because her team aren’t used to her movement
                – FYI Smith was used at centre, I didn’t like this option
                – Turner and Klau, what more can we say? Klau’s footwork, timing, physical presence, reading of the game, she was just awesome to watch, and IMHO was the MVP of that game; Nweke does make a huge difference, but Klau is more important; O’Shannessey was fine, I’d have confidence to put her on in a Turner/Klau/O’Shann back line

                Andrew Kennedy
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                  Post count: 234

                  Hi all, I was VERY privileged to be at the NZ selection vs Swifts game – given that it wasn’t televised and essentially was Swifts members and VIPs only. The journos were only Britt Carter (ABC), the Swifts liaison, and me, yay!

                  Netball Central aka Quayside is the un-airconditioned regular court training venue for both Giants and Swifts, and also the venue for state league etc etc, at Olympic Park, where we’ll probably see the second court in the NWC 2027 (as it was in 2015). It was a fairly warm day, possibly warmer than anything the Kiwis expect.

                  Swifts put on quite a lot of effort for the fans, in terms of merch stalls, lots of NSW junior age reps etc, and a not-too-shabby-not-too-annoying DJ.

                  There were no offical stats, and I couldn’t tell who all the younger/new Silver Ferns defenders were. It was a 4-quarter game (as opposed to 5), the third day in a row for these two teams – even though some of them know each other very well, there wasn’t much chatting between teams, I got the impression the Kiwis were just a touch tired after a week-long camp, and possibly very ready to go home. That’s not to say they didn’t play well, just something I noticed.

                  There were MANY changes, including during a quarter, even switching people on and off within 3-4 minutes. This was particularly for the NZ WA position in the first half, and for their defence end in the second half. Both teams actually need to make some decisions about midcourt combos, although NZ didn’t have Souness or MRB.

                  Andrew Kennedy
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                    Post count: 234

                    My two cents, FWIW, I’ve just found time to watch test two.

                    Jamaica varied their lineup which not only gave us something new but gave their coaches good headaches. The takeaway from that test is how good Latanya is and that she’s really on top of the netball world at this point. She’s only 23 (I think), golden age ahead for Jamaica. It’s interesting that the Jamaican athletes show both flair and clinical Australian tactics, most noticeably Latanya with her incisive line to the ball but also freakish coverage of backspace. In some moments, it makes me think of Pretorius, Liz Ellis’ favourite freak.

                    The coverage was better this time, for example there were actual replays, although the focus was very strongly Jamaican and commentators kept calling South African players the same incorrect name, for example, as far as I can tell Visser started at GD and moved to GK but was called Retief at GK. I must admit I was confused and I find it hard to know who is who from this distance.

                    Van Wyk (SA GD) has impressed me, and Nketsa (C). Maseko (GA) we can take as read as being brilliant. I think Chawane as captain is so good because her turnovers (WA) are low and she’s experienced and a steadying influence. I remember when she was an irrepressible WD, she’s matured really well. I don’t have any stats, sorry. There were some moments bring the ball through in transition and from defence to circle edge that were poetic. Good mental fitness from SA.

                    The Jamaican midcourt is always interesting. At this point it’s impossible to decide on WA, Grierson (new player) or Williams (veteran). I think Kadijah (Williams) (let’s face it, she’s been my favourite for years) played better coming off the bench; you can read this as her wanting to prove herself, but for my mind it’s about fitness and timing, Williams is shorter and less speedy but more crafty and creative, if Grierson keeps doing the basics well it’s a good semi-planned switch when they need it. For centre, Adean Thomas nailed it today. Thomas is so reliable, and Crystal Plummer is a wildcard – I guess that’s another swap that coach S-G Henry has to make at the right time.

                    I thought Jok was better today, and Jamaica overall was more in their groove. Cleary got a debut at GS for about 7 mins, I didn’t see enough to comment, maybe I thought Gordon (test 1) was slightly better with availability, Cleary did shoot with confidence.

                    Andrew Kennedy
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                      Post count: 234

                      Jenny van Dyk (coach of SA) – my impression from what she said, that Smith’s injury caused a loss of focus but wasn’t a major factor; she’s happy the gap was less than recent losses to Jam (18 goals or so); she felt like they were competitive (true), and they will improve simply through more experience.

                      Saher-Gaye Henry (coach of Jam) basically said precisely what I wrote hahahaha I’ve always liked her. I don’t only say that to be cute, I have interviewed her a couple of times (eg Gold Coast Comm Games) and we’re often on the same wavelength, maybe because we’re both wing attacks.

                      Andrew Kennedy
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                        Post count: 234

                        For Jamaica, it was good enough, obviously all that matters is the win, and they have a young team who if they put in some work with the right attitude this week, they can make great strides towards being a world top-2 squad again. They’re in an okay place. Coach would be happy with the resilience and happy with the replacements coming on and mostly stabilising things.

                        They need consistency for 15 mins at a time, not losing silly passes in attack. The errors were predictable (as to when they would happen) but unpredictable (in that they were all different). Jok hasn’t been in the team all that consistently, and they’ll need to work on the combinations there – the timing, the angles, the variation, and definitely reliably getting to the circle edge. SA obscured the vision and clogged them up, and sometimes the WA and C didn’t rotate at all, creating only a front or sideline option.

                        Even though the defence was great, at times Ward was off the pace. I don’t think that was a big problem, probably just not her best game. Maybe just tired. The class and experience of Wilson and SSH was evident, in attack as well as defence.

                        Andrew Kennedy
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                          Jamaica win 55-47, so they didn’t lose a quarter.

                          I find it hard to pick an MVP, but I guess SSH makes sense. Not many players actually stayed on for the whole game and Jok didn’t set the world on fire (although they do love her and I don’t know how the voting works). I actually think Maseko deserved MVP despite being on the losing team and only playing 3 quarters.

                          For SA, Maseko (GA for 3 quarters), Chawane (WA, captain), Nketsa (centre) were all good. Pity about Smith (GK) going off so early – she’s one of their best and most experienced defenders and the loss of her was noticeable. Looks like she might be out for the series with that ?hand/?wrist/?finger injury.

                          Oh there you go, Jok got MVP.

                          Andrew Kennedy
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                            Post count: 234

                            Q4 Jamaica came out explosively and quickly got to a 12 goal lead.

                            SA have a new GA which is definitely Taljaard (who I’ve always liked but Maskeo is just so good nowadays) (and Taljaard has a new name ?married or something else?) and new WD who I recognise but can’t recall the name.

                            Lots of errors in the SA forward line, the Jam crowd love it. But then the errors from Jam at the transverse line – Jok doesn’t move in the same way as Romela and JFN, and Jamaica are rushing the lob when it is covered and Jok is flat-footed. The big message is going to be to get the ball to the circle edge; or indeed for Kadijah Williams to watch every video of Toeava playing and how she gets rid of tall defenders. Grierson and Plummer aren’t doing too bad, but also not impressive.

                            I’d have to say, the SA shooters largely aren’t too stressed about the Jamaican defence of the shot – they do baulk, but they don’t panic. Streutker in particular had good accuracy.

                            Jam have recognised the sloppy patch and replaced GA and C. I’m sorry I haven’t written all the changes, without graphics it’s hard to keep track. Oooh Simone Gordon has just debuted at GS for Jam for the last 4 mins.

                            It looks like SA might win the last quarter. Jamaica are playing like they’ve already won, foot is off the pedal. Sure, some good defence by SA but nothing major, they’re playing more consistently and in the right place, right time.

                            Andrew Kennedy
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                              Post count: 234

                              It’s hard to watch with no stats and the commentators mostly ignoring the names of SA. There aren’t many close ups and the feed is blurry – but I’m thankful that netball pass is putting in the effort to show these things (no, I’m not sponsored by NP hahaha).

                              So Rhea-Dixon is at GA for Jamaica and Grierson is at WA. You can already see the English style of play especially with their baulks, stance, the way they step forward, the tracking on defence. It’s like when we saw the Corbins play for Barbados at NWC 2023 in Cape Town.

                              A bit of a three-way collision with SA GD munched (she’s okay), but the commentators don’t even know her name, would be helpful to have a graphic (the only graphic is the score). And now an awesome intercept (for a poorly chosen rushed pass from Grierson) from the SA GK and her name not mentioned.

                              SA ARE in it, cute layup from van der Berg there, I’m a bit surprised given their relative inexperience and the power the Sunshine Girls have shown this year.

                              Q3 42-35 Jam lead SA.

                              Sadly we see the injured SA GK with her right arm in a sling (name not mentioned); no word on what this injury is yet.

                              The SA WD was warned by Gary Burgess for repeated breaking (I have to say, I didn’t really notice an issue), so for that reason and also because they really do need to get the squad on and see what mix-ups might work, I’d hope they put KC from WA–>C, Etkesa (??) C–>WD, and try another feeder. KC and Maseko are playing well together, they might try different timing and options.

                              Andrew Kennedy
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                                Post count: 234

                                I’m not sure if anyone else is watching this! Test 1, Jamaica v South Africa, in Kingston, started at 10am AEDT. It’s available for $20 for the series on netballpass

                                13-all first quarter
                                28-23 half time

                                I missed the whole first quarter, and the broadcast doesn’t really give much in the way of stats nor names of the South Africans, so I’m missing some details. Anyway, what I’ve noticed from the second quarter is:

                                Abigail Sutherland (Jamaican centre) was being kept well in check by SA C (not KC, she’s playing WA), her dodges weren’t effective and she wasn’t getting circle edge, so quite rightly she was replaced by the more experienced Crystal Plummer.

                                The Jamaican midcourt is not impressing me generally speaking. Obviously this is affected by having Jok at GS instead of Romelda or JFN, but it’s also due to diligent work from the SA back line. They are all tall and lanky and they’re obscuring the vision and keeping them pushed off the circle and to the sidelines.

                                Maseko (GA for SA) is definitely making the highlights reel, deceptive, slick, athletic moves to the backspace are outdoing Jodi-Ann Ward frequently. Streutker is playing fine, not great for lobs against Shamera but is making okay moves and getting front space. The main error from these two is if Maseko tries to pass off to Streutker when Sterling is right there.

                                There’s not exactly a feast of intercepts. I think Jam has 3 and SA 2 at half time. Put this down to very consistent short sharp flat passing from the whole SA team that cuts through the classy Jam defenders. The SA transition from defence is secure, I like it.

                                Still, Jamaica lead by 5. The SA GK went off in the second Q with something like a hand/finger injury?? which is a shame because she was getting tips and causing turnovers. The loss of the SA GK is probably a major reason for Jamaica building a lead. Jamaica are lucky to have Jok, but Shimona isn’t setting the world on fire, her movement is still stodgy and hands not reliable – that’s tied to the midcourt not getting it to circle edge. It looks awkward.

                                Q3 – Jamaica brought on Rhea-Dixon and SA brought on van der Berg at GS.

                                Andrew Kennedy
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                                  Post count: 234

                                  Here I was thinking there might be a missed shot, and there was a held ball! And now a ?? stepping (I didn’t seee it).

                                  Ian I’m not sure if the calls were “weird”, but there were a few down this end of the court (the one where Diamonds ended the game shooting) that I didn’t quiet get or quite agree with. I would call them “borderline”.

                                  Well that game was won by Fadoju on her own. Congrats to England!

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