In the past week, we’ve seen two full rounds of Suncorp Super Netball played. We will have to get used to this condensed nature of the competition as the same thing is happening in the coming week. Round two last weekend began with an upset win by Thunderbirds over Giants and featured the emergence of Adelaide goal attack Georgie Horjus. Then came a Vixens 28 goal demolition on Firebirds. The Sunshine Coast’s four goal win over Magpies was noteworthy for the fact that Lightning won the match without scoring a single super shot. Then came the match of the round. Fever got out of the blocks quickly and they led Swifts at half time, before the move of Sophie Garbin to goal shooter. She totally dominated the third quarter, scoring 21 goals and helping Swifts turn an eight goal defecit into an eight goal lead. The NSW side then had to hold on against a fast finishing Fever team with Helen Housby sinking the winning goal in the dying seconds.
Round three began with a sublime performance from Jo Harten at goal attack as she led the Giants to a 75-68 defeat of Fever. It was Giants’ first win of the season, and came in Caitlin Bassett’s 200th national league appearance. Magpies also notched their first win as they scrambled over the line against Firebirds. Kim Jenner and Mahalia Cassidy starred for Firebirds, but the team lacked the confidence to go on with it after taking a lead into the last quarter. The last two matches saw comprehensive victories in milestone matches, firstly to Swifts over Thunderbirds in Paige Hadley’s 100th game, then to Vixens over Lightning in Kate Moloney’s 100th game. Last year’s runners-up looked badly out of sorts against the brilliant teamwork of Vixens. Even at this early stage, Vixens and Swifts are laying down the marker as the teams to beat.
In round 9 of New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership, we found out who would be the opponent for defending champions Pulse in the grand final, set down for Invercargill on Aug 23. On Sunday we saw the big match up between Mystics and Tactix, the two teams battling it out for that second spot in the grand final. Tactix just had the upper hand for most of the game and they stretched the advantage to a seemingly safe 6 goals with just 3 minutes left. Then came an incredible finish. Mystics scored five straight goals and a very nervy Tactix just held on for the crucial win. As Mystics had already been upset by a determined Steel side two days earlier, this result gave Tactix the inside running. They then confirmed their place in the final with a convincing win over an under-strength Pulse the very next day. Pulse was without Maddy Gordon and Ameliaranne Ekenasio and it’s to be hoped they will be back for the final. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, round 10 has been called off this weekend with all games counted as draws. Hopefully, finals day can go ahead next week
2020 SUNCORP SUPER NETBALL – Round 2
Giants Netball 51 (19, 8, 12, 12) lost to Adelaide Thunderbirds 59 (14, 19, 12, 14)
Giants
Harten 20/30 (67%)
Bassett 12/15 (80%)
Austin 11/23 (48%)
Team Total: 43/68 (63%)
Super shots 8/23 (Harten 6/13, Austin 2/9, Bassett 0/1)
Assists 33 (Austin 10)
Gains 15 (Poolman 7)
Thunderbirds
Potgieter 43/45 (96%)
Horjus 12/16 (75%)
Gooden 0/3 (0%)
Team Total: 55/64 (86%)
Super shots 4/9 (Horjus 3/5, Potgieter 1/1, Gooden 0/3)
Assists 50 (Horjus 21)
Gains 17 (Sterling 9)
Points: Thunderbirds 4, Giants 0
MVP: Kate Shimmin (Thunderbirds)
Queensland Firebirds 50 (13, 8, 11, 18) lost to Melbourne Vixens 78 (16, 22, 19, 21)
Firebirds
Aiken 35/43 (81%)
Dwan 7/11 (64%)
Venter 3/9 (33%)
Stower 0/2 (0%)
Team Total: 45/65 (69%)
Super shots 6/12 (Venter 3/8, Dwan 2/5, Aiken 0/2, Stower 0/1)
Assists 36 (Cassidy 14)
Gains 8 (Ellis, Aiken 2)
Vixens
Kumwenda 23/26 (89%)
Philip 23/27 (85%)
Thwaites 19/24 (79%)
Team Total: 65/77 (84%)
Super shots 10/20 (Thwaites 6/10, Philip 4/4, Kumwenda 3/5)
Assists 53 (Watson 21)
Gains 12 (Weston, Mannix 3)
Points: Vixens 4, Firebirds 0
Player of the Match: Liz Watson (Vixens)
Sunshine Coast Lightning 51 (10, 11, 16, 14) def Collingwood Magpies 47 (11, 13, 9, 14)
Lightning
Koenen 38/45 (84%)
Proscovia 6/10 (60%)
Wood 5/10 (50%)
Hunt 2/3 (67%)
Team Total: 51/68 (75%)
Super shots 0/3 (Wood 0/1, Koenen 0/1, Proscovia 0/1)
Assists 40 (Langman 15)
Gains 17 (Pretorius 8)
Magpies
Nelson 32/38 (84%)
Allen 6/6 (100%)
Sinclair 6/13 (46%)
Team Total: 44/57 (78%)
Super shots 3/8 (Allen 2/2, Sinclair 1/5, Nelson 0/1)
Assists 38 (M.Browne 10)
Gains 12 (Ward 5)
Points: Lightning 4, Magpies 0
Player of the Match: Laura Langman (Lightning)
NSW Swifts 73 (18, 15, 27, 13) def West Coast Fever 72 (20, 21, 11, 20)
Swifts
Garbin 28/32 (88%)
Housby 19/25 (76%)
Wallace 18/25 (72%)
Team Total: 65/82 (79%)
Super shots 8/16 (Housby 6/11, Wallace 2/5)
Assists 51 (Proud 20)
Gains 13 (Klau, Moore 4)
Fever
Fowler 53/57 (93%)
Teague-Neeld 11/16 (69%)
Stanton 1/1 (100%)
Team Total: 65/74 (88%)
Super shots 7/12 (Fowler 4/6, Teague-Neeld 3/6)
Assists 59 (Teague-Neeld, Charles 20)
Gains 11 (Lewis 7)
Points: Swifts 4, Fever 0
Player of the Match: Sophie Garbin (Swifts)
2020 SUNCORP SUPER NETBALL – Round 3
Giants Netball 75 (17, 22, 19, 17) def West Coast Fever 68 (20, 15, 17, 16)
Giants
Bassett 47/53 (89%)
Harten 22/25 (88%)
Team Total: 69/78 (89%)
Super shots 6/7 (Harten 6/7)
Assists 60 (Austin 30)
Gains 17 (Parmenter 7)
Fever
Fowler 58/66 (88%)
Stanton 3/5 (60%)
Teague-Neeld 2/4 (50%)
Team Total: 63/75 (84%)
Super shots 5/14 (Stanton 3/4, Teague-Neeld 1/2, Fowler 1/8)
Assists 60 (Teague-Neeld 22)
Gains 14 (Lewis, Aryang 4)
Points: Giants 4, Fever 0
Player of the Match: Jo Harten (Giants)
Queensland Firebirds 54 (17, 15, 13, 9) lost to Collingwood Magpies 58 (14, 14, 15, 15)
Firebirds
Aiken 37/42 (88%)
Dwan 13/17 (77%)
Venter 2/3 (67%)
Team Total: 52/62 (84%)
Super shots 2/5 (Venter 1/2, Dwan 1/3)
Assists 48 (Cassidy 21)
Gains 15 (Jenner 7)
Magpies
Nelson 42/45 (93%)
Sinclair 7/12 (58%)
Allen 4/5 (80%)
Team Total: 53/62 (86%)
Super shots 5/7 (Sinclair 5/6, Allen 0/1)
Assists 49 (Sinclair 13)
Gains 7 (Mentor 3)
Points: Magpies 4, Firebirds 0
Player of the Match: Molly Jovic (Magpies)
NSW Swifts 66 (18, 17, 12, 19) def Adelaide Thunderbirds 51 (10, 13, 12, 16)
Swifts
Wallace 27/30 (90%)
Housby 21/27 (78%)
Garbin 10/13 (71%)
Singleton 1/2 (50%)
Team Total: 59/72 (82%)
Super shots 7/11 (Housby 5/7, Wallace 2/4)
Assists 51 (Hadley, Haythornthwaite 11)
Gains 15 (Klau 6)
Thunderbirds
Potgieter 18/19 (95%)
Glasgow 16/21 (76%)
Horjus 7/9 (78%)
Gooden 3/6 (50%)
Team Total: 44/55 (80%)
Super shots 7/13 (Glasgow 7/10, Horjus 0/1, Gooden 0/2)
Assists 38 (Pitman 16)
Gains 15 (Sterling 9)
Points: Swifts 4, Thunderbirds 0
Player of the Match: Paige Hadley (Swifts)
Melbourne Vixens 63 (16, 18, 15, 14) def Sunshine Coast Lightning 51 (11, 8, 19, 13)
Vixens
Kumwenda 21/23 (91%)
Philip 19/25 (76%)
Thwaites 17/24 (71%)
Team Total: 57/72 (79%)
Super shots 6/12 (Thwaites, 3/4, Philip 3/6, Kumwenda 0/2)
Assists 53 (Watson 27)
Gains 13 (Mannix 8)
Lightning
Koenen 30/34 (88%)
Wood 11/17 (65%)
Proscovia 7/9 (78%)
Team Total: 48/60 (80%)
Super shots 3/6 (Wood 2/5, Koenen 1/1)
Assists 41 (Wood, Scherian 13)
Gains 6 (Pretorius 3)
Points: Vixens 4, Lightning 0
Player of the Match: Kate Moloney (Vixens)
Table:
1 – Vixens . 12 points . 133% (Pld 3)
2 – Swifts . 12 points . 110% (Pld 3)
3 – Lightning . 8 points . 106% (Pld 3)
4 – Fever . 4 points . 102% (Pld 3)
–
5 – Giants . 4 points . 98% (Pld 3)
6 – Magpies . 4 points . 93% (Pld 3)
7 – Thunderbirds . 4 points . 90% (Pld 3)
8 – Firebirds . 0 points . 75% (Pld 3)
Upcoming matches (SSN):
(AEST)
1pm, SAT 15 AUG – Magpies v Fever
3pm, SAT 15 AUG – Firebirds v Giants
1pm, SUN 16 AUG – Lightning v Swifts
3:30pm, SUN 16 AUG – Vixens v Thunderbirds
5pm, TUE 18 AUG – Fever v Vixens
7:30pm, TUE 18 AUG – Firebirds v Swifts
5pm, WED 19 AUG – Magpies v Thunderbirds
7:30pm, WED 19 AUG – Lightning v Giants
2020 ANZ PREMIERSHIP – Round 9
Southern Steel 51 (17, 12, 14, 8) def Northern Mystics 47 (8, 14, 12, 13)
Steel
McCollin 32/36 (89%)
Halpenny 19/23 (83%)
Team Total: 51/59 (86%)
Assists 49 (Crampton 26)
Gains 9 (Heffernan 5)
Mystics
Nweke 41/44 (93%)
Tui 4/4 (100%)
Vui 2/3 (67%)
Team Total: 47/51 (92%)
Assists 43 (Toeava 26)
Gains 9 (Fitzpatrick 3)
Points: Steel 4, Mystics 1
Player of the Match: Shannon Saunders (Steel)
Southern Steel 34 (7, 9, 7, 11) lost to Central Pulse 49 (16, 10, 12, 11)
Steel
McCollin 19/22 (87%)
Halpenny 13/18 (72%)
Namana 2/2 (100%)
Pelasio 0/2 (0%)
Team Total: 34/44 (77%)
Assists 33 (Crampton 11)
Gains 7 (Fifita 3)
Pulse
Dunn 30/32 (94%)
Ekenasio 19/20 (95%)
Team Total: 49/52 (94%)
Assists 44 (Gordon 12)
Gains 13 (Burger, Rore 4)
Points: Pulse 4, Steel 0
Player of the Match: Kelly Jury (Pulse)
Northern Mystics 42 (12, 9, 11, 10) lost to Mainland Tactix 43 (13, 11, 10, 9)
Mystics
Nweke 37/42 (88%)
Tui 4/6 (67%)
Vui 1/3 (33%)
Team Total: 42/51 (82%)
Assists 35 (Toeava 19)
Gains 10 (Fitzpatrick, Karaka 3)
Tactix
Bird 30/33 (91%)
Selby-Rickit 13/15 (87%)
Team Total: 43/48 (90%)
Assists 41 (Poi 15)
Gains 8 (Watson 4)
Points: Tactix 4, Mystics 1
Player of the Match: Kimiora Poi (Tactix)
Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 45 (11, 12, 15, 7) lost to Northern Stars 46 (12, 13, 10, 11)
Magic
McPhee 27/32 (84%)
Latu-Meafou 15/17 (88%)
Williams 3/3 (100%)
Team Total: 45/52 (87%)
Assists 41 (Souness 19)
Gains 12 (Mikaere 6)
Stars
Wilson 37/41 (90%)
Hume 9/11 (82%)
Team Total: 46/52 (89%)
Assists 43 (Reuela-Buchanan 20)
Gains 10 (Burley 6)
Points: Stars 4, Magic 1
Player of the Match: Mila Reuelu-Buchanan (Stars)
Central Pulse 32 (7, 9, 9, 7) lost to Mainland Tactix 39 (13, 10, 7, 9)
Pulse
Dunn 20/24 (83%)
Metuarau 12/17 (71%)
Team Total: 32/41 (78%)
Assists 26 (Kersten 13)
Gains 14 (Jury 6)
Tactix
Bird 32/38 (84%)
Selby-Rickit 7/9 (78%)
Team Total: 39/47 (83%)
Assists 34 (Selby-Rickit 16)
Gains 10 (Fakahokotau 4)
Points: Tactix 4, Pulse 0
Player of the Match: Temalisi Fakahokotau (Tactix)
All round 10 matches called off and declared draws…
Final Table:
1 – Pulse . 49 points
2 – Tactix . 42 points
–
3 – Mystics . 35 points
4 – Stars . 29 points
5 – Steel . 21 points
6 – Magic . 19 points
Finals day: SUN 23 AUG
