Talking points: Round 8

By Sophie Taylor & Stephanie Smarrelli
 

The midway point of the season has officially surpassed.

All eight clubs had a chance to clean the slate and switch up ahead of a monster second half of the season to come.

We run you through our top talking points from Round 8.

KOPUA RETURNS

The GIANTS have had a topsy-turvy season to say the least.

Three straight losses to start the season put them on the back foot immediately, before a remarkable one-goal win over the Thunderbirds seemed to put their season back on track.

But disaster has since struck, losing both Jodi-Ann Ward (ACL) and Tilly McDonell (calf, expected to return).

Enter Casey Kopua.

The New Zealand veteran got the call-up from GIANTS head coach Julie Fitzgerald on Tuesday and made the move quick-smart to make her SSN debut on Sunday afternoon.

Reunited with her former Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic coach and former teammates Jo Harten and Jamie-Lee Price, Kopua picked up where she left off following her retirement in 2019.

Her presence on court helped the GIANTS to take an early lead against the Vixens, while her leadership behind young gun Erin O’Brien was crucial, allowing O’Brien to flourish out of her preferred position.

Kopua finished with two gains from three deflections and a rebound.

GIANTS are yet to announce whether she will take the permanent replacement position for Ward, but would be silly not to extend the offer.

Watch this space.

SWIFTS-THUNDERBIRDS RIVALRY CONTINUES TO DELIVER

There have been plenty of grudge matches this season, but no battles quite compare to the rivalry between the NSW Swifts and Adelaide Thunderbirds.

Dating back to the Thunderbirds’ breakthrough 2023 premiership season, the two sides have been relentless against one another.

Factor in the likes of Romelda Aiken-George who lost that grand final to the Thunderbirds before claiming Player of the Match in last year’s back-to-back victory, and there’s more than just points at stake.

Both their clashes this season have come down to the wire, but while the Swifts ended up getting the job done convincingly during their Round 3 clash (65-57), it was not quite so easily done this time around.

A monster second quarter from Thunderbirds captain Hannah Petty and defender Latanya Wilson was all they needed to take control of the match.

And despite fine form from Swifts’ Grace Nweke to post, the Thunderbirds worked in overdrive to negate the Swifts’ ball-speed and completely stemmed the flow into the New Zealand shooter.

But the Thunderbirds’ patient game in attack tipped in the Swifts favour throughout an enormous second half, forced to feed unwarranted balls into the goal circle off the back of strong form from Maddy Turner and Sarah Klau.

The Thunderbirds seemed well over their recent slump in form on the weekend, so expect them to come out firing in the next few weeks to set themselves up for finals.

While both matches have gone the way of the Swifts this season, expect to see this matchup at least once more during the post-season when the win matters most.

FEVER FOUR-QUARTER PERFORMANCE

It’s scary to think that the Fever are still building, but from eight matches and six wins, their 17-goal victory over the Firebirds is the first this season where they’ve won all four quarters.

Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard’s return in Round 3 has been critical to the side’s success, racking up six-straight wins since the Jamaican goal shooter returned to the court.

But it has taken Fever some time to adjust throughout the past few games, allowing opposition sides to take charge during stints and draw the percentage closer.

All that changed on the weekend.

Fever were at their complete best against the Firebirds, putting out three 21-goal quarters and one 19-goal quarter to come away with an 82-65 victory.

Fever’s ball-speed in attack served the ball on a platter to Fowler-Nembhard, who shot 68 goals straight to sit at 100 percent accuracy during one-point time, with just one Suncorp Super Shot attempt blemishing her record.

Jordan and Zoe Cransberg have shown fine form this season and were relentless once more, while Alice Teague-Neeld piled on 24 goal assists.

Factor in the complete defensive performance of Kadie-Ann Dehaney (five gains), Sunday Aryang and Fran Williams (three gains, one intercept apiece), and the Fever will be hard to stop now that they’ve truly got the ball rolling.

The Swifts are up next, though.

Round 9 will be a true test of their mettle.

ON THE STATS SHEET

Grace Nweke retains top spot for goals scored this season (413), followed by a trio of  Jamaican sharp shooters (Shimona Jok on 373 goals, Fowler-Nembhard on 358 goals and Aiken-George on 308 goals).

Aiken-George hit 9000 national league goals on the weekend, following suit from Fowler-Nembhard who hit the same milestone last week.

Fellow Jamaican Wilson has continued her defensive dominance despite a switch up into goal keeper this week, leaping ahead for deflections (52) and intercepts (21).

Origin Diamonds Courtney Bruce and Sarah Klau sit second and third respectively on the deflections tally, while Klau also sits second for intercepts.

Matisse Letherbarrow sits atop the Suncorp Super Shot tallies, with 43 from 69 for the season so far after hitting nine on the weekend.

Helen Housby sits second for Super Shots (32 from 51) while also holding top spot for goal assists (166) ahead of Alice-Teague-Neeld (163) and Liz Watson (162).

Watson and Teague-Neeld sit first and second for centre pass receives.