Only one round until Super Netball finals!
I’m bloody excited, in case you couldn’t tell. As a player, I lived for this time of year and the chance to step out on the big stage. It’s what you work for all season both on and off the court.
Before we dive into Round 14 and the finals, it’d be wrong not to highlight a couple of INCREDIBLE performances from the weekend.
DID TIPPETT HAVE THE PERFECT GAME?
How good was Gretel Tippett on the weekend?
These articles are all about Nissan Net Points, after all, and Gretel Tippett’s 135 Net Points against the Fever broke the record for the highest individual score from any player this season.
With perfect 30/30 shooting, 19 goal assists, 27 centre pass receives, two intercepts and only two turnovers, it’s about as close as you’ll ever come to a player achieving the “perfect game”.
At the start of the year Gretel was making some silly errors, but without a doubt she's reined that in to be one of the most dominant goal attacks this season. Unfortunately, you can kind of be forgotten when you’re in an unsuccessful team, but Gretel has definitely proven that she can stand up and be that consistent player that her team and fans have been wanting to see.
BRAZ FOR PRESIDENT
You all know I’m a massive Ash Braz fan.
Before the World Cup there was the ongoing conversation about whether she would ever get an opportunity with the Diamonds. And part of the problem for her was that she was largely viewed as a one-position player.
Well, if her 111.5 Net Points and match MVP award playing at centre in Round 12 against the Fever didn’t prove she’s got another string to her bow, then her 117.5 Net Points and second match MVP for her four quarters at centre against the Swifts on the weekend definitely did!
When I was at Collingwood, Ash never even really trained in centre. With so many Diamonds players in the team, it was sort of like, “This is where they should play”, and we went from there.
So for her to go in there the last two weeks and do what she’s done is amazing, and the Magpies’ results speak for themselves.
Ash brings that elevation and a "get out of jail" card with a high ball that tall shooters provide in other teams, so if the Magpies are stuck they can chuck it in the air and she’ll get there! This allows them more time to work the ball in, rather than risking the high ball over the baseline and turnovers. Kim Rav seems to have slotted straight back into her old position at WD without fuss also.
Now we’ll have to wait and see whether Ash will FINALLY be given an opportunity in the national team, now that she can clearly dominate TWO positions!
WHO NEEDS A BIG GAME BEFORE FINALS?
As a player, you want to be hitting finals with confidence, and among those preparing for the semi-finals next week there are a couple who would really be wanting to have a big performance.
Paige Hadley is one who stands out to me as needing a really big one against the Firebirds this weekend. Her first half of the season was absolutely incredible – she was regularly around (or above) 100 Nissan Net Points, and until this week she held the single-game Net Points record.
Since she came back she hasn’t quite been at that same level, and at the same time the Swifts have still been going OK, but since the World Cup break they’ve lost to the Magpies, the Lightning and drawn with the Thunderbirds.
Paige’s Net Points scores since the World Cup have been 41 vs Fever, 26.5 vs Lightning, 49.5 vs Vixens and 50 vs Magpies.
What’s really hurting her is turnovers. Before the World Cup she was making only a couple of errors per game (including zero turnovers in Round 7 against the Firebirds!), but on the weekend against the Magpies she had five. With each turnover costing up to 10 Net Points, it’s easy to see how those scores can drop away.
Coming back from international tournaments affects players differently, and the mental fatigue is one thing that doesn’t really get noted. So hopefully Paige has taken some downtime this week to be able to freshen up and really step up this weekend heading into finals.
She needs to be that consistent member for her team coming into finals time and it's really hard, obviously with not having Maddy Proud there, because they played off each other so well and that’s when she got her highest points. Even missing Helen Housby, who does the majority of the workload on centre passes, over the last few weeks has been a factor, so hopefully with her back in the side Paige can find her best.
The other one is the Melbourne Vixens as a whole, and particularly their attack end.
Given they were touted as premiership favourites, things just haven’t clicked for them consistently this season, and this weekend against the Magpies they really need to stand up as a team.
As an attacking unit they’re coughing up way too much ball, and even Jo Weston (24 Net Points) has been really costly with some really silly passes, and you just can’t do that in important games.
The Magpies beat them in Round 7 and are in very good form, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Vixens can deliver.
