Magpies farewell home court with stirring victory

Catch up with all the round 12 Super Netball action.

Clinical Collingwood farewell home court with a win

– Jenny Sinclair

Collingwood’s death by a thousand cuts continued as they upset title favourites Adelaide Thunderbirds 53-50. at John Cain Arena. Their clinical win showed glimpses of the powerhouse they could have been, rather than what is – a team folding just seven years after conception.

When the news dropped last week that Collingwood wouldn’t renew their Super Netball license, it left the team in tatters. Futures of players and staff unknown, fingers pointed, and just pride left to play for.

Today, that pride was enough for the Magpies to win their last ever home game on Victorian soil, leaving the team in tears after a tumultuous few weeks.

The Magpies made a promising start to the game, with a near flawless attacking performance supported by defensive attrition.

Shimona Nelson was a tower of strength under the post, shooting 44 from 44 and reducing the usually brilliant Shamera Sterling to a spectator at times. The rapid fire connection between MVP Kelsey Browne and Nelson proved difficult to stop, although Sophie Garbin’s reluctance to go to the post could prove costly for her come Diamonds’ selection.

Leading by four points at half time, Magpies coach Nicole Richardson was hopeful her side could hang on.

She said to commentary, “We were in this position last week, we lost, so we need to learn from it.

“This win means so much to us. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, so hopefully for the girls and the fans we can come away with the win and the points.”

Defenders Jodi-Ann Ward and Geva Mentor picked off six gains between them, keeping Eleanor Cardwell particularly quiet. Scoring just 13 points in the first half, the English Rose was visibly unhappy with her performance as the game progressed.

Leading by as much as 10 at one point, cracks appeared in the Magpies form during the last quarter. While the re-energised Thunderbirds narrowed the margin to two, Magpies hung on for an emotional win.

It was a surprising result given each team’s position on the ladder. Collingwood languish at the bottom, while the Thunderbirds are pushing for their first grand final success in a decade.

However, the Thunderbirds lacklustre performance could come back to haunt them. Results pending, it has potentially bumped them off the top of the table, and into a string of away finals if they are to take out the premiership.

It’s a different future for the Magpies, whose 10 players will be left without a club at season’s end. While their agents are looking worldwide for future opportunities, contracting periods in the UK and New Zealand close before Super Netball’s even opens. So players have to decide whether to lock down a certainty overseas – potentially for far less money – or take a risk on missing out altogether.

And while the Magpies players will have to endure further cuts over the coming weeks, the deepest, perhaps, comes from Netball Victoria. The organisation have recently expressed their interest in remaining a two team state – one of them just won’t be Collingwood.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NETBALL?

Netball Victoria’s preference is for a regional team, or as cynics put it, one that won’t rival the Vixens. Other parties that have publicly expressed their interest include Netball Tasmania, and potential white knight and founder of Melbourne Victory, Geoff Lord.

Applications for the eighth license, to be overseen by a subcommittee of Netball Australia, close on June 20th.

Fever get the job done in front of record crowd

– Jenny Sinclair 

West Coast Fever’s topsy-turvy season continues after 69-65 win over the Sunshine Coast Lightning in front of a record Western Australian crowd. With almost 11 000 fans in the house – an attendance only eclipsed in their home finals matches – the reigning premier‘s victory against the Lightning lacked conviction.

After dropping four of their previous six Super Netball games, questions have to be raised over Fever’s mid season slump and match fitness. While Covid and the fatigue of a heavy travel schedule are factors, the team have won just four of their 12 final quarters this season. That included a three-point deficit again today.

However, Fever coach Dan Ryan denied there was a significant problem with the fade-outs.

Speaking post match he said, “It’s playing under pressure isn’t it? Sometimes you’re going to step up, and sometimes you are going to struggle.

“At the end of the day to win this competition you’re going to have to perform under pressure, and the more we put ourselves under pressure in those situations the better prepared we will be.”

As is customary, Fever started strongly, pulling out to an early lead with crisp ball movement and strong defensive pressure.

One of the most enthralling battles on court was an all-Diamonds affair, with Fever defenders Courtney Bruce and Sunday Aryang making life difficult for their opponents. While Steph Wood’s power of work regularly found Cara Koenen under the post, Wood’s accuracy was off early on.

After missing all of her five super shot attempts in the first half, coach Belinda Reynolds backed in her captain.

Speaking to commentary she said, “Steph’s been off the radar early, but she’s a champion so she’ll continue to attack it.”

While Koenen was lethal with 38 from 40, she was outshone by Jhaniele Fowler, who was the highest scorer on court. The Jamaican powerhouse brought the house down with her 5000th Super Netball goal during the match, in a 54 from 58 shooting effort. However, she also gave up four handling errors, as rookie Ash Ervin made her work for every possession.

Selected this week into the 2023/24 English Roses squad, Sasha Glasgow put last week’s quiet performance behind her as she fed Fowler superbly and contributed 15 points of her own, including five supershots.

In her 100th national league game Alice Teague-Neeld also had a return to form, with 35 feeds and an impressive defensive contribution of three gains.

However, Fever’s eighth win of the season didn’t come without its sticky moments. With the margin narrowing late in the game, and penalties once again blowing out for the Fever, centre and eventual MVP Verity Simmons copped an unusual one. Asking the umpire for clarity over crowd noise, she was firmly signalled to zip it.

After an unconvincing win, third placed Fever have work to do as finals loom. With the same number of shots on goal as the Lightning, they only scraped over the line thanks to a superior shooting percentage.

Despite sitting on top of the ladder, Adelaide Thunderbirds loss earlier today makes things interesting. It potentially opens up a higher berth for Fever, should they have a strong finish to the season.

Ryan said of the opportunity, “It makes the last two rounds really hairy, and really scary. You never know what can happen, and things can change really quickly.”

WHAT’S IN A POINT?

Plenty if you are West Coast Fever, as their four losses this season have all been by a single point. If they’d been converted to wins, Fever would be untouchably placed on top of the ladder. As it stands they will most likely finish in third or fourth, and face a string of away games if they are to become back to back premiers.

BELINDA’S BACK

Appointed to the role of Sunshine Coast Lightning head coach this season, Belinda Reynolds returned to her old stamping grounds in Round 12. Reynolds has a long association with Western Australia, as a former assistant coach for Fever, coach of a range of age group pathways, and player for Fever’s predecessor, the Orioles.