By Damien Stannard
Burning question
When will Adelaide Thunderbird Tayla Williams earn a start?
With no more lifelines remaining, surely the Thunderbirds’ midcourt is crying out for a tweak at USC Stadium on Saturday against the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
It is no secret that transition, and to a lesser extent scoring, have been Adelaide’s weaknesses. The midcourt has hardly excelled so what would coach Tania Obst have to lose from unleashing Williams?
The side has only won two opening quarters from seven rounds, and Williams could inject some spark.
After making her debut as a 20-year-old two seasons ago, opportunities have been scarce but she looked composed and was productive in her 17 minutes on court against the West Coast Fever.
The Lightning have stewed on their heavy loss to Giants Netball but emerged having learned some useful lessons.
They were reluctant to pull the trigger on Suncorp Super Shots until it was too late, which was surprising given the capability of captain Steph Wood and Reilley Batcheldor.
“We need to be more aggressive in the super shot period,” assistant coach Vicki Wilson said.
“Our start was wonderful, and we went into the first super shot period leading. Then we found ourselves in chase mode.”
High stakes
Like rowers at the halfway point of an Olympic final, West Coast Fever and the Melbourne Vixens are eyeing each across the course, waiting for the right moment to lift their stroke rating.
Both seem to have more to give and they will need to in Round 8 against the Collingwood Magpies and Queensland Firebirds respectively.
Fever coach Dan Ryan has the luxury of countless impactful variations in his line-up and five of the remaining seven rounds at home.
The second-placed Vixens also have amazing depth – Kate Eddy, Rahni Samason and Hannah Mundy are back against the Firebirds – but they could have as few as three more home games in 2022.
Bogey game
Amy Parmenter will have the dual platforms of her 50th national league game and a local derby to finally convince selectors she is ready for an international debut and a ticket to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The Giant humbly said all the right things during the week, including how “cool” and “mind-blowing” it was to be on the cusp of the milestone.
She is enjoying a fine season, the highlight of which was being a thorn in the sides of NSW Swifts duo Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley in the first crosstown clash in Round 1.
What more can she be expected to do?
If there is a criticism of Parmenter it would be her versatility. But those with strong memories would know the 23-year-old can mix and match, including a polished all-round game in 2020 when she filled all three midcourt roles in one match against the Thunderbirds.
The Swifts have bigger problems than who is picked for the Diamonds.
Running last, they can mathematically reach the finals but another loss would almost be terminal.
“We can annihilate teams and score goals, then we let patches go,” Hadley said.
“So for us it’s about consistency.”
