There are grave concerns for Australian Diamonds shooter Cara Koenen after she rolled her ankle in the final moments of the Sunshine Coast Lightning’s 70-64 loss to the Giants on Saturday.
Koenen, who is named in the green and gold squad due to compete at the Netball World Cup in July, appeared to clash with Giants defender Tilly McDonnel before slumping to the ground in agony. She hobbled off the court as her team capitulated in the grinding loss, having gone goal for goal with the home side throughout the rest of the 60 minutes.
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Despite Koenen’s visible distress on the sideline, Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds allayed concerns that her injury-riddled team – which is currently nursing three ACLs – might lose yet another key player.
“I think she’ll be okay, fortunately she has very flexible ankles and tends to roll them a bit. I’d be surprised if she’s not back next week,” Reynolds said.
SEASON OVER FOR SUNSHINE COAST
The loss ends the Lightning’s 2023 finals hopes, as they slump to sixth on the ladder with no mathematical chance of moving into the top four with four rounds of Super Netball to go.
Meanwhile the Giants need to win every match, and have other teams’ results go their way, if they are to crack back a finals place in June.
“For us, the main thing is just to concentrate on each week as it comes, we’re growing every week and we’re proud of that,” said Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald.
NO HARTEN, NO WORRIES
Giants shooters Sophie Dwyer and Matisse Letherbarrow were called on for a second week to fill the gap left by their injured captain, veteran English shooter Jo Harten.
Youngster Matisse Letherbarrow has seen minimal court time since debuting in 2020, sitting below Dwyer and Harten on the depth chart, but for the past two weeks has put in a solid resume for a starting spot.
The 21 year old looked as comfortable draining Super Shots at long range (scoring 5 from 8 attempts), as getting out the back behind purple defenders, adding 41 from 44 goal attempts under the post.
“I’m really happy that Matisse has had the opportunity – she’s never had the opportunity to play back-to-back games, and I think you can see the growth there so I’m very happy for her,” said Fitzgerald.
OFFICIALS DRAW IRE
Lightning shooters Steph Wood and Koenen were spotted having words with the umpires at quarter time when the stats showed 30 penalties in the first 15 minutes – a high average of one called every 30 seconds.
The umpires were reportedly telling players to keep their arms down. It was a warning that appeared to go unheeded when a battle between Lightning’s Annie Miller and Giants’ Amy Parmenter sent the Giant to the floor, hard. On replay it was a blatant push in the back that could have been called for 50 in an AFL match, much more in the non-contact Super Netball.
Umpires in the Sydney venue have previously drawn ire; two controversial calls in the dying moments of the Giant’s round seven loss to the Swifts still hanging heavy in recent memory.
— Kate Allman
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VIXENS MAKE EASY WORK OF THUNDERBIRDS
Dominant second and third quarters by the Melbourne Vixens’ helped them to clinically dispatch a depleted Adelaide Thunderbirds 60-39.
Facing just one higher ranked team in the next month, Vixens have a smooth run home and can now finish no lower than fourth. A swathe of wins would set them up for the double chance in the finals, and the recently announced John Cain Arena grand final.
While the Thunderbirds jumped out to an early lead, the loss of Tippah Dwan (ankle) and Hannah Petty (thigh) through injury last week restricted their options. As a result the Thunderbirds shooting circle looked stagnant at times, as the Vixens’ defenders dominated their opponents.
A heavy clash between Maisie Nankivell and Jo Weston saw the latter leave the court shortly afterwards for medical assessment. While it was a blow for the Vixens, Em Mannix was heroic at goal keeper. Finishing with eight intercepts, six gains and three rebounds, Mannix was a deserving MVP as she helped restrict the Thunderbirds to a measly 15 points across the second and third terms.
Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst shuffled her attacking line time and again, but it made little difference to the Vixens, who continued to extend their lead.
While Jo Weston returned to the court in the third quarter, piling on the pressure, Vixens were also able to craft a brilliant attacking game. After being soundly beaten by Latty Wilson in their last encounter, Liz Watson took the court at centre instead.
She owned the position, transitioning the ball quickly through court to give her forward line every chance under the post.
Speaking after the game, Vixens’ coach Simone McKinnis said, “That was some of our best ball movement all year.”
National coach Stacey Marinkovich would also have been delighted with Kiera Austin’s ability to thread her way through Jamaican opponents, who she will face at the upcoming World Cup.
While goal attacks usually play second fiddle to their shooter, Austin was the best performed under the post, finishing with 28/36 including 5/6 supershots. Austin also contributed defensively, collecting two intercepts and two deflections.
While the Thunderbirds were brilliant in defence, they were wasteful in attack, converting 51 per cent of their centre passes and a sloppy 50 per cent of any opportunities their defence created.
It’s an area that will need addressing if the Thunderbirds are to progress in the finals.
WHAT’S IN A GOAL
Plenty if you’re a Vixen! They’ve won five games this season by just one goal, demonstrating their confidence to close out a match. But there’s some luck involved too – reverse any of those margins, and they’d be on a slippery downhill slope.
WHERE’S THERE’S A WILL
The Thunderbirds remain an enigma, based on some of their statistics. They lead all defensive metrics, led by brilliant Jamaican goal keeper Shamera Sterling. However, they are ranked 6th for converting their centre passes, and dead last for converting their turnovers. The sheer volume of ball that Sterling provides is essential in keeping Adelaide in front of the pack.
— Jenny Sinclair