Super Netball’s “handy spares” stake their claim, the Melbourne Vixens become the only side unbeaten at home, the Braz-less Pies flounder in a shocking stanza and the Firebirds sweat on injury news.
Here are the big talking points out of round seven of Super Netball.
Braz-less Pies not-so hot in first
An intercept under the ring on the first circle entry, the lowest quarter score this season, the highest number of penalties by a team in a quarter since mid-2020, not one, but three shooters in negative Net Points and more than six minutes with just a solitary goal on the scoreboard.
It’s not hard to see how Collingwood’s first quarter against the Adelaide Thunderbirds at
Netball SA Stadium on Sunday afternoon set the side up for failure.
Nicole Richardson’s team, without an ill Ash Brazill, looked sub-par in the opener, although the 14-7 quarter-time scoreline didn’t truly reflect it.
In the second, the Pies scored just one fewer less than the Thunderbirds, they tied in the third and won the last 16-13. But the damage was done in the first and Tania Obst’s side took the win 52-47 to lock in second place on the ladder.
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Scoring just seven goals in 15 minutes, turning the ball over eight times and picking up 30 penalties – the most since the Vixens’ fourth quarter against the Queensland Firebirds in round four of 2020 and six more than any other side in a quarter this year – was not lost on Richardson. But she was happy with the effort after the poor start.
“Against a team like that, and any team in the competition, you can’t let (them) jump out of the gate like they did. That’s an area we will need to work on,” she said.
“We haven’t come away with the win (but) I think we’ve learned a lot more about ourselves as a group. We were able to challenge right through to the end, which was important,” Richardson said, referring to three super shots from Kelly Singleton in the last which closed the gap.
She said a change in long-court defensive structures helped steady the ship after quarter-time.
“We changed up a little, tried to deny depth (and) I thought our playing group adjusted to that strategic move quite well. I was very impressed with the way that the girls continued to fight it out and find a way to post.
“Credit to Shimona Nelson, I thought she had a really good game on Shamera (Sterling). She adjusted her hold, had a lot of variety in her positioning and I thought she did a good job to nullify her impact on the game,” Richardson said.
With opportunity, home-grown talent blooms
Olivia Lewis, Lauren Moore, Tayla Fraser, Macy Gardner and Tayla Williams … the list of “handy spares” taking their chances in 2023 is growing.
At the start of the season, defenders Lewis and Moore, and midcourters Fraser, Gardner and Williams, all in their early to mid-20s, sat outside the starting sevens of their respective sides. But at the halfway point of the competition, they’re all pushing for a start. And they’re all Australian.
Lewis, who has sat behind Em Mannix for several years, backed up a stellar game last round against the Swifts with a sensational second half against the Firebirds.
She ran on at keeper and after just two gains in the first half, had five after half-time, including four in the third quarter to help turn the game and the Vixens win 72-60.
In the Sydney derby, Giant circle defender Moore and Swift wing defence Fraser, both got their first starts of the season after solid cameos in the first six rounds and each rewarded their coach.
Moore said post-game she was pleased to get the nod at keeper and happy with her performance, despite her side losing by one.
Marking Romelda Aiken-George, the ex-Swift was one of the Giants’ best, finishing with four gains, which included two intercepts and a rebound, in her 46 minutes.
“Coming up against my old club was something really cool,” she said.
“I think I know the ins and outs of a few of their players. Obviously, Romelda was very different to a Sammy (Wallace), but I think that helped … knowing their strengths and where I could probably take advantage,” Moore said.
Firebird midcourter Gardner has proved instrumental for Bec Bulley’s side and got her second consecutive starting bib against the Vixens but finished on the bench after injuring her wrist.
And in a 52-47 win over Collingwood at Netball SA Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Thunderbirds’ fortunes seemed to ebb and flow with Williams being on the court at centre or off it, such is her new-found importance.
Vixens Cain-ing opponents at home
The Melbourne Vixens became the only side to be unbeaten at home this year with a 72-60 come-from-behind win over the Queensland Firebirds on Saturday night.
Melbourne’s 10,500-seat John Cain Arena, which is also Collingwood’s home stadium, is something of a fortress for the Vixens, with the crowd acting as the proverbial “eighth player”, especially when Simone McKinnis team is behind.
The Vixens have banked wins against the Giants, Lightning and now Firebirds, with an average winning margin of just under six goals.
The hot streak will be tested on Sunday when they host the ladder-leading West Coast Fever. After that, the Adelaide Thunderbirds, NSW Swifts and Pies visit.
The Thunderbirds have three wins and a draw at Netball SA Stadium and West Coast has won two from three at RAC Arena. Both are unbeaten on the road.
Collingwood has got both its wins when hosting at John Cain and the Swifts have been victorious twice at “home” at Ken Rosewall Arena.
The Firebirds, Giants and Sunshine Coast Lightning have scored lone wins where they’re based, at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena, Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena and UniSC Arena.
The Vixens’ 2023 trend reflects 2022 when the side dropped just one home game – to Collingwood in round seven in May – before losing the semi-final to the Fever there.
The following week, the Vixens won through to the grand final by beating the Giants in an epic preliminary final by one goal at John Cain Arena.
Firebirds in tense ‘wait and see’ on Gardner
The Queensland Firebirds are in “wait and see” mode after midcourter Macy Gardner – who is in career-best form and earning more minutes than ever – injured her right wrist in her side’s 72-60 loss to the Vixens on Saturday night.
While preliminary scans in Melbourne at the weekend were “positive”, a club spokesperson said Gardner “will still require further assessment once she returns to Brisbane.”
Playing at centre, Gardner put her hands down to brace for a fall after clashing with an intercept-hunting Olivia Lewis outside the circle just over five minutes into the third quarter.
The 22-year-old looked distressed after the impact and cupped her wrist as she remained on the ground. The Vixens’ and match-day doctor went to Gardner and took her through concussion protocols once she left the court.
She returned at centre for the last quarter but only lasted a little over six minutes before she hurt the same wrist while trying to steady herself on the circle edge.
Gardner looked to exit the court but managed to take a centre pass and deliver a feed to shooter Donnell Wallam before calling time. She didn’t return to the match.
Post-game coach Bec Bulley described the injury as a jar. “You know what? She’s so tough. She came back on, gave it a go, but she was just too sore, so she came back off again. Fingers crossed it’s all okay, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Having battled for court time behind Kim Ravaillion and Lara Dunkley in previous seasons, Gardner is having a breakout 2023.
She was on track for her second consecutive 60-minute match after being key in the Birdies’ win over the Giants last week and has played 112 minutes across the other five matches so far this season, only missing out on minutes against the Swifts in round three.
