Photo by Steve McLeod
At Netball Scoop, we’ve been conducting our own MVP voting since 2015, firstly on the ANZ Championship, and then on Suncorp Super Netball. But up till now, we hadn’t done the same with the ANZ Premiership. This year we’ve put that right…
BURGER WITH THE LOT
By Ian Harkin
28 year old Tactix defender Karin Burger is our ANZ Premiership MVP for 2021.
After leaving defending champions Pulse in the off season, Burger has clearly enjoyed the move. And also her change in position. Having been primarily a wing defence at club level previously, this year she has had the goal defence bib to herself at Tactix, and hasn’t she made the most of it. Over the course of the regular season, she came up with an incredible 84 possession gains at an average of 5.6 per game. She has teamed up with goal keeper and captain Jane Watson to make a truly formidable defensive pairing; one we’re also likely to see for the Silver Ferns.
Our voting system this season entailed voting for the best five players in each game on a 5,4,3,2,1 basis. It was a sluggish start to the season for Tactix, as they lost their first three matches. As a result, Burger had just six votes on the board from the first five games. It was then that she went on an astonishing run of great form. Between rounds six and 14, she was voted best on court five times, second best three times, and third best once. She failed to pick up a vote in the last round, but by this stage, she had an unassailable lead.
If moving to a new club has worked out well for Burger, the same can most definitely be said for young shooter Tiana Metuarau, who finished six votes behind Burger. Metuarau also left Pulse at the end of last season and joined Steel in search of more court time. It’s been a very successful move. She has teamed up with English import George Fisher in the Steel shooting circle, and to great effect. Her all round play has been so intelligent and creative.
In a reflection of their amazing season, it’s three players from the same team, the Mystics, who round out the top five. Firstly, young shooter Grace Nweke who was a constant threat up front, regularly grabbing hauls of 50+ goals. She formed a lethal partnership with wing attack Peta Toeava who just kept racking up the assists in huge numbers. Meanwhile, goal keeper and captain Sulu Fitzpatrick, led by example and was in tremendous form. All three of these players had terrific seasons and were a big part of why Mystics now find themselves in the grand final.
2021 NS MVP LEADERBOARD
(20 votes or more)
46 . Karin Burger (Tactix)
40 . Tiana Metuarau (Steel)
37 . Grace Nweke (Mystics)
37 . Sulu Fitzpatrick (Mystics)
35 . Elisapeta Toeava (Mystics)
33 . Gina Crampton (Stars)
30 . Anna Harrison (Stars)
29 . Georgina Fisher (Steel)
25 . Sam Winders (Magic)
23 . Shannon Saunders (Steel)
22 . Elle Temu (Stars)
21 . Jane Watson (Tactix)
20 . Claire Kersten (Pulse)
TEAM AWARDS
Just as we do with our SSN MVP, we don’t only award an outright winner. We also use these votes to decide on MVPs for each club.
MYSTICS MVP: GRACE NWEKE and SULU FITZPATRICK
You can’t get much closer than the end result of the Mystics MVP, which finished in a tie with just 2 votes further back to third. The top three in voting picked up a massive 109 votes between them, which no doubt impacted on others in the team who also had good seasons.
37 . Grace Nweke
37 . Sulu Fitzpatrick
35 . Elisapeta Toeava
13 . Tayla Earle
10 . Kate Burley
5 . Filda Vui
3 . Bailey Mes
2 . Fa’amu Ioane
STEEL MVP: TIANA METUARAU
The attacking front three for Steel dominated. They picked up 92 votes between them, with Metuarau coming out on top. An injury in round 10 may have cost Fisher polling even more votes as she wasn’t back in the starting lineup until round 13.
40 . Tiana Metuarau
29 . Georgina Fisher
23 . Shannon Saunders
12 . Taneisha Fifita
10 . Kate Heffernan
5 . Grace Namana
5 . Renee Savai’inaea
3 . Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit
TACTIX MVP: KARIN BURGER
As the winner of the overall MVP award, naturally Karin Burger also wins the Tactix award. She finished a crazy 25 votes ahead of her captain. The rest of the team all picked up votes along the way, but Burger dominated this.
46 . Karin Burger
21 . Jane Watson
18 . Ellie Bird
14 . Kimiora Poi
11 . Charlotte Elley
8 . Te Paea Selby-Rickit
5 . Samon Nathan
4 . Erikana Pedersen
STARS MVP: GINA CRAMPTON
Incredibly, Gina Crampton wasn’t voted best on court in any of the Stars’ 15 matches, but she was so consistently good, that she just edged out Anna Harrison for the award as Stars’ best player. Interesting that captain Maia Wilson only polled 9 votes. She had a poor end to the season after a good start.
33 . Gina Crampton
30 . Anna Harrison
22 . Elle Temu
18 . Mila Reuelu-Buchanan
12 . Jamie Hume
9 . Maia Wilson
5 . Lisa Mather
1 . Oceane Maihi
PULSE MVP: CLAIRE KERSTEN
The Pulse MVP ended up being a very even race, with no absolute standouts. In the end, captain Claire Kersten just pipped Whitney Souness for the top spot with Aliyah Dunn and Kelera Nawai not far behind.
20 . Claire Kersten
19 . Whitney Souness
16 . Aliyah Dunn
14 . Kelera Nawai
10 . Kelly Jury
9 . Maddy Gordon
4 . Te Amo Amaru-Tibble
MAGIC MVP: SAM WINDERS
The leaderboard for Magic is very telling. Just like Crampton at the Stars, Magic’s captain Sam Winders wasn’t judged best on court once during the entire season. But she gave her all each and every single week in a poor season by her team and picked up votes in 11 of their 15 matches, finishing well ahead of the next Magic player.
25 . Sam Winders
9 . Grace Kara
8 . Khiarna Williams
5 . Caitlin Bassett
4 . Temalisi Fakahokotau
3 . Erena Mikaere
2 . Georgia Tong
1 . Georgie Edgecombe
Congratulations to all the winners. Now, on to the finals!
