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in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369138
This may be common knowledge, but as I don’t have the coverage, what has happened to Weston, Rav, and Petty?
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369132Has everyone gone for a loo break? Probably a good time, Firebirds midcourt really aren’t coping, wow I hope Rav and Dunkley and Veve come back. This combo of Burns, Gardner, Fleger is very average. This is a shame because Gardner has had a good weekend overall. It’s not just that, Fbirds have no attacking rebounds from six misses, of course Shamera just gobbles those up.
Granted, the Thunderbirds defence line of Sterling/Garrett/Wilson is brilliant, especially Matilda Garrett. Thunderbirds are a team of premiership players and veteran internationals, and Firebirds without Rav RBD and Dunkley are like their junior team. Wallam is finding it all very hard, but what are you supposed to do?
BTW Horjus has no turnovers and she’s highest on NNP.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by Andrew Kennedy.
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369129The stadium was very much going for Lightning, possibly just because of the comeback and all the Diamonds in that team. Lots of numbers to crunch, but one thing noticeable was Fretwell pulled it out when it counted, she played 34 mins and shot 10/10 1-pt and 3/3 2-pt. Beckford’s stats were 5/9 1pt and 1/4 2-pt – there’s the difference.
Also Koenen got FIVE REBOUNDS, she’s often very good at this, nice that they can rely on her.
WRT Dehaney, she got zero gains in 22 mins, while Ruth Aryang got 1 intercept in 10 mins. The fundamental thing IMHO is that Katie-Ann commits her defence too much to a lean or a three-foot guard and thinks that’s it, she doesn’t think to react and use fast feet for the offload or next phase.
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369127Q3 was 13-7 to Lightning. While Fran Williams looks better at GD, it was really just great transition by Lightning on several turnovers that created momentum. Yes, Tully’s points I agree with, MiMi has had a crap tournament, I would’ve gone with Miller (Miller not even in the team), but on this occasion it worked. Fretwell was more effective in that tiny pocket at sideline and transverse line to help bring the ball down, there was more space for MiMi and Batcheldor.
ATN found it easier against Cassidy compared to Black, Ava Black is just so tall and remember ATN was originally a goal attack – the turnovers were from Browne and Beckford.
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369124With the Fever GKs pretty ineffective, they’re lucky Steph Fretwell isn’t in form and that the umpires are really favouring the attackers. Williams seems to think clobbering is a legitimate tactic, there’s a lot to clean up in her play. Thank goodness for Sunday.
I keep banging on about consistency and doing the basics well – these teams aren’t doing either of those things. They need to have a way to pull themselves out of a funk (a haze, or whatever you want to call it) and execute a few crips set plays to regain their rhythm. The midcourt defence needs to be put on a lot faster and tighter.
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369122RE commentary, Rore does a fair job from what I’ve heard, I’d like more of her!
Into the Lightning v Fever game, JFN was on the bench and Fever managed to win the first quarter despite some indecisive play. Wilkinson had three misses but Lightning didn’t get any rebounds. Beckford had her best quarter so far, and that seems to have given her the energy I normally would expect from her.
Both teams have lacked connection, there’s a big difference in feeding skill/awareness from Cassidy (at centre) vs Watson, and also Fever don’t use Browne properly yet. Who is going to do the basics well?? Like, pass it to someone who’s right in front of you, and don’t give it to someone with two people on them!!
JFN is pulling in poor passes and making her team look good, if Ervin’s footwork was better she could get a couple of those.
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369115Lauren Moore has a knee injury, she’s screaming. She was going for a pass down the sideline to JLP (JLP realised and she flicked the ball to Harten who fumbled it).Everyone was thinking how spectacular JLP was and it took a few moments to realise Moore wasn’t getting up.
She’s weight bearing a bit. Amy Sligar is crying, of course, they have played together in NSW (including Giants) for years. The stadium went silent, it was chilling.
Best wishes to Lauren, let’s hope it’s not as bad as it looks ❤️????
EDIT just saw the replay thanks to some fans beside me, her season is over. ????
- This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by Andrew Kennedy.
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369114My WORD, can’t Mavs get a goal? This is a shocker, and Ward must have 4 rebounds by now. Mavs defence is disappointing, except for Parmy, of course.
It’s not surprising that Giants are playing a bit better than their ranking suggests – Harten played zero minutes yesterday (load management), and she is one of the best ever shooters in terms of timing, economical and deceptive moves, and being a backup option on the third second.
One of the very obvious differences in these attacking lines is the height of Dwyer, and the confidence and experience as a unit of Giants. Dwyer looks straight to the post and Harten is making the move.
Sinclair is an able player, but she’s just too short to sight the circle in the same way as Dwyer, and she’s not been used at WA enough like Horjus – even when Horjus is GA, her cuts and drives are similar to a WA. I would prefer Nankivell to never play WA as her body control always is too much AFL-style, and use Sinclair at WA as an alternative to Fraser.
in reply to: 2024 Team Girls Cup #1369110Hi everyone, I’ve been at the courts most of the weekend, it’s exciting and exhausting keeping track of everyone!
I think the number one thing on my mind is injury cover and load management. For example, Giants have Maddy Hay out and replaced by a historically impressive wildcard/super-sub player (Pitman) who is now about 35 years old, and Harten I doubt can play out a season at 100% EVERY game, so Leatherbarrow or Singleton really need to be an option.
Meanwhile, so many selection dilemmas – you’ll have seen at home how good Streutka is, but she’s a training partner as such, what are Mavs going to do with shooting, given Cardwell will always be on the court but people are definitely going to target her? And are they going to have a settled midcourt, which has been patchy this weekend. And the defence dilemma, no one player has really coped against tall shooters, even Lewis.
What are Fever going to do about that defence end? My feeling is that Williams will gradually fit in a bit better, but Delaney hasn’t impressed me at all, I really want her to be getting more possession than the odd rebound.
At this moment, and trust me I know it’s VEERRRY early days, Swifts are looking the best – they’re the most consistent and they do the basics – Klau wins possession! Turner and Smith confuse space! Hadley and Proud deliver! Wallace opens, shoots and gets it in! And Housby shows that X factor and ridiculous grit! Everyone does their job! Also Fawns has really stepped it up and the other main bench players look good, too.
I’m really happy with Latu (Tuivati), Greenway as commentators, great stuff, and Usoro-Brown is good but maybe could slow down a bit!
They’re now praising the Heffernan twins for being the only sisters ever to play for NZ at the same time. They think NZ will beat Uganda but they’re not 100% sure. Interesting to call it at all having not seen Uganda.
Stacey says – a real team effort, intensity kept up throughout the game, good to run it home. Important to recognise the swings of momentum, and to ride the wave and the grind and not feel like means there’s trouble.
Commentators all agreeing the Bruce could also have been MVP. They discuss that the changes of GD aren’t about the GA, they’re more about the type of double-teaming on a tall shooter, which I personally think it more noticeable from NZ since their default is a zone and players always switch.
Aunty Noels – in third quarter she was happy with the fight, overall not too bad! Need to not turn it over, and to work on fitness. Wants defence to interrupt the possession-style play of Aus
Is it my imagination or do none of these shooters have pretty shots? The Aussies in particular use a much faster and firmer (ie not relaxed and floppy) wrist flick, who on earth started this trend? Not Sharelle, that’s for sure! But I suppose Prats had a bit of a pokey shot. Hmmm…
Price at WD has been brilliant. All the Aussies have won their positions, although at times the NZ attack seem to have even things up. 61-48 to Aus, 2 mins to go, I’m gonna say… Watson for MVP. Really in no way obvious, I guess it has to be Watson or Bruce, but Price was also consistent.
Since Aus new shooters came on they are 12/12. They’re calm and settled now, I wonder whether the issue in the middle of the third quarter was NZ defence hardening up or Aus just getting a bit mentally tired??
Spectacularly athletic play by Gordon, taking possession on the fly only with left hand and getting it to MRB. I think what NZ midcourt could do more is attack the ball rather than just denying circle edge position.
Wow, what a strange (bad? wrong!) call by Gary, Nweke DEFINITELY should’ve kept possession as she landed on Bruce (not dangerous or nasty in any way) but Nweke was out of play allegedly for causing! I suppose his interpretation was that she chose to jump in (onto Bruce), but I think she had to in order to catch it. Oh well. 55-45 with 6 mins left.
Wow okay so Garbin came on at GS and very quickly Karaka comes on at GK (Jury off). Karaka is captain (Ekenasio isn’t here), this is all…. errrmm interesting to not start your captain on the court. And Dwyer is there too.
Oh dear, messy from Australia (Dwyer somehow lost it when maybe trying to go too fast) and then error from NZ in return (Souness offside). Barely getting steady from Aus. Maybe the NZ run is O V A H?… never write them off.
44-39
Koenen is having no trouble creating space against Jury, really great vision (for us, not for Gary) of haw she fends the Kiwis off. Burger does get the better of Austin on average.
Aus defenders are watching the ball and not making decisive moves at the moment, it’s enabled a spark from Heffernan and Souness to keep growing. 38-35.
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