THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO
As a goal keeper, I was always mindful that it was my teammates out the front who were allowing me to have a crack at the back.
For a defensive end to do well, it’s not often you see the goal keeper shine without the work being done out the front of them. When a goal keeper has a really good game, it’s always interesting to look at the impact the wing defence and goal defence have had.
Shamera had a killer game, but the fact that Layla Guscoth was able to get 73 Nissan Net Points tells a real story.
And then there’s their new wing defence Beth Cobden.
None of the wing defences across the league got many Nissan Net Points – the Fever’s Jess Anstiss top-scored with 28, and she even played a quarter in wing attack.
Beth Cobden actually finished with zero Net Points, but take a look at her opponent for the first three quarters – Fever wing attack Ingrid Colyer.
Colyer had a blinder of a season in 2018, and again in 2019 she’s feeding the ball to Fowler every week. Under the Net Points system, feeds that lead to a goal are worth two points. Have a good day feeding Fowler and you could have 80-odd Net Points from that statistic alone.
But Cobden held Colyer to just 35 points for her three quarters. Compare that to a Liz Watson at wing attack, who finished with 87 points for the Vixens, and you start to see just how important that grinding defence out the front can be, even if it’s not full of flying intercepts and highlights.
The performance of the Thunderbirds’ entire defence in Round 1, considering what they were up against and where they were at last year, it’s an awesome effort from those players and coaching staff to create that turnaround.
ARE THE SWIFTS THE ULTIMATE TEAM?
Is this a changing of the guard in New South Wales? The Giants have been up for the first two years, but are the Swifties about to change that?
As an all-round great team game, I thought the Swifts’ win was awesome.
To have a Swifts player in the top five across the league for Nissan Net Points in six of the seven positions on court shows you how well they played together, and it’s really cool to see that the Net Points are reflecting when everyone’s firing.
Their consistency and work rate was phenomenal, and it’s great to see them start 2019 like that.
They were such a young team when they came in in 2017 and they were kind of written off those first couple of years, but they’ve been super competitive and now they’ve got the advantage and stability of all being together for a third year, which other ‘experienced’ teams don’t have, like your Magpies and your Lightnings.
It’s so exciting to see Paige Hadley (98 Net Points – third in the league and number one among wing attacks), who was at the World Cup in 2015 but then got dropped, back in such good form.
Can she make it back in for Worlds?
I tipped the Giants in that game, just from looking at their logos on paper. You think of Caitlin Bassett (45 Net Points) and Jo Harten (92 Net Points), if they fire they have the potential to be unstoppable, but if they don’t it could get ugly, because they have such a quick-firing attack end with balls flying in from Kim Green (34 Net Points), and they’re used to having a Susan Pettitt in there.
Although Caitlin’s the Australian captain and is coming off injury, they might have to slow down the pace of their game, which is going to change what they are as a team.
Teams that are actually playing together, like the Swifts, you can just see how well they stop the ball/quickly move the ball because of the understanding they have for one another, which only time can buy. Maddy Turner (29 Net Points) and Sarah Klau (50 Net Points) were phenomenal – they absolutely turned the game for their team in the second half.
This is their third year now, and you can see the importance of having that defensive combination and understanding of each other. Neither of them are your typical superstar, but they both work great as a defensive unit. If they stick together they can be a formidable defence line of the future.
Bring on Round 2!
