Talking points: Round 5

By Sophie Taylor

One club has jumped into the top four for the first time while the the ladder continues to shift.

We run you through our top talking points from Round 5.

UNPREDICTABLE RESULTS PERSIST

While no win is ever guaranteed, the closeness of the ladder and complexity of moving parts is making it harder and harder for teams to string together consistent wins.

The Thunderbirds and Swifts were put under the pump by lower-ranked opposition and only pulled away in the final quarter, while the Fever and Lightning took the foot off the pedal slightly but still impressed with massive scorelines.

From close half-time margins to lower scores across the board, each clubs’ midcourt became especially important as did the penalty count and ability to score off turnovers.

The GIANTS lacked potency throughout their clash with the Lightning, but with two players missing from their regular lineup it seemed only fair they took some time to adjust.

The Vixens and Mavericks struggled with high penalty counts, unable to stay in play and piling further pressure on themselves in important moments.

While the Thunderbirds still sit in second on the ladder, they do not look the comfortable attacking side they did during the opening rounds and that once again reflected on the scoreboard this week.

With a clash against the Fever looming on Saturday, expect nothing less than a fight to the end between two powerhouses, while the Mavericks will hope to run down the Firebirds after two straight losses for the Queensland side.

FEVER AND LIGHTNING MAKE A STATEMENT

The two coastal clubs have been in red-hot form and put it all on the scoreboard this weekend with 17 and 18-goal victories respectively on home soil.

The Fever burst out of the blocks with a 22-14 opening quarter against the Mavericks and never looked like slowing down during a physical battle.

Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard finished with 60 goals from 62 attempts against a physical and flying Mavs defence, accompanied well by Shanice Beckford (six goals, eight assists) and Olivia Wilkinson (eight goals, two Suncorp Super Shots).

Kadie-Ann Dehaney (three gains, four deflections) won the battle at the other end against compatriot Shimona Jok (40 goals), her long arms causing chaos and confusing the Mavs feeders (13 general play turnovers) at every turn.

Alice Teague-Neeld and Jordan Cransberg shared the feeding load evenly with 25 and 23 goal assists from 29 feeds apiece.

The Lightning had a similarly strong start on Sunday but it was an enormous 23-10 third quarter effort that propelled them to an eventual 18-goal victory.

Unit defence was the name of the game for the Lightning.

Head coach Belinda Reynolds switched between the pressure play of Courtney Bruce and the long arms of Ash Ervin while Tara Hinchliffe was consistent as ever out the front in goal defence.

Cara Koenen’s confidence was up and so was her shooting load, piling on 56 goals at 90 percent accuracy while Steph Fretwell and Reilley Batcheldor both contributed seven goals and one Suncorp Super Shot apiece.

Liz Watson was an immovable force in attack, finishing with 26 goal assists from 44 feeds and putting three wing defences to bed in the process.

Sitting third and fourth on the ladder, the Lightning and Fever both have important tests coming up in Round 6 as they take on the Vixens and the Thunderbirds, respectively.

DEFENDERS DOMINATE

In a round chock full of high-octane action, it was the defenders who put on a showcase.

Four of the eight clubs scored less than 60 goals under heavy pressure from circle defence, while full defensive units were crucial allowing individual performances to shine.

Sarah Klau and Latanya Wilson were inarguably the stars of the show in two of the closest matches of the round.

Klau’s nine gains from five intercepts, 13 deflections and two rebounds were crucial to the Swifts in their first clash of the Sargeant-McKinnis Cup for 2025, proving a force to be reckoned with against Origin Australian Diamonds teammate Sophie Garbin.

Wilson was similarly impactful with 10 gains - six intercepts, four rebounds and four deflections – able to fly for the ball with the steadiness of Tilly Garrett behind her in goal keeper.

Elsewhere, Isabelle Shearer (three intercepts) put up a strong performance against veteran goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George, while Bruce and Erin O’Brien picked off five gains each.

ON THE STATS SHEET

Swifts spearhead Grace Nweke maintains top sport for goals scored (249), closely followed by Jok (235) while Mary Cholhok and Aiken-George have drawn level for third (186 goals) and Fowler-Nembhard has racked up 174 goals in three rounds.

Watson’s playmaking on the weekend has drawn her level with Helen Housby for goal assists (102 apiece), also sitting on nine centre pass receives more than Hannah Mundy in second (96).

Klau leads the competition for deflections with 35 to her name, marginally ahead of Wilson (31) who is trailed closely by Dehaney (23), Bruce (22) and Garrett (21).

The intercepts count is the closest of them all, with just four between first (Wilson, 12) and fifth (Olivia Lewis, eight) on the leaderboard.