By Paddy Regester
After ranking the eight midcourts and attack ends of the competition, it's time to wrap it all up with the defences.
1. Melbourne Vixens (2020 Ranking - #2)
In – NA
Out – NA
No surprises here, the Vixens are our number one defence.
Despite having one of the most dominant midcourt groups and a dynamite shooting circle, I believe the crown jewel of this team last season was their stout defence.
Thanks to the many years of playing together, Emily Mannix and Jo Weston play the Goal Keeper and Goal Defence positions like they are telepathically linked.
The individual regular season stats are healthy but not through the roof for Mannix and Weston, Mannix lead the team with 27 intercepts, 54 deflections, 10 defensive rebounds and 53 gains, but that’s not what makes this defence great.
What separates this group from the pack is the league low 769 regular season points scored against. That’s 28 less than the next team, 55 less than the next and over 100 total points allowed less than the other five teams.
That’s not individual brilliance, that’s full team buy-in. A mentality.
Throw in Kadie-Ann Dehaney, who always seems to step in and make a big impact, roll defensive mid Kate Eddy through GD when Weston needs a sit, and you’ve got a group who can adapt to whatever the opposition throws at them.
2. NSW Swifts (2020 Ranking - #3)
In – NA
Out – NA
Led by one of the best Goal Keepers in the world in Sarah Klau, this young Swifts group has the size, speed and experience to take it right up to any attack end in the competition.
Unlike the Vixens, the Swifts individual numbers in the key defensive statistics are really impressive, particularly Klau’s 27 interceptions, 87 deflections, 17 defensive rebounds and 70 gains.
But it’s the points against holding this team back from jumping their long-time rivals on this list. Their 885 total points against is almost 10 points more per-game than the Vixens and the fifth most allowed in the league.
There’s no question that Klau, Maddy Turner and Lauren Moore can make those big plays that can change the outcome of a game but will need to start putting the clamps on the shooters to take the next step.
3. Sunshine Coast Lightning (2020 Ranking - #1)
In – Kate Shimmin (From Thunderbirds)
Out – Annika Lee-Jones (Celtic Dragons)
There will be plenty of pundits out there who might think the Lightning are a bit stiff to fall to third on our list. But hear us out.
Karla Pretorius is the best Goal Defence in the world and her stats are seriously mind-blowing. She led the league in interceptions (58), had the eighth most deflections (60), led all GD’s with 19 defensive rebounds and had the fifth most gains in the competition (68).
And her South African teammate, Phumza Maweni, had a massive season as well, putting up 22 interceptions, 80 deflections, 20 defensive rebounds and 64 gains herself.
Why we’ve decided to put them third is because of depth compared to the top two and the loss of Laura Langman at Centre.
Long-time Adelaide Thunderbird Kate Shimmin comes across and is a clear upgrade over the out-going Annika Lee-Jones but has struggled for court time in the last few seasons. Because of this, we’d back the depth of the Vixens and Swifts.
And we all know how much of a genius Laura Langman was with the ball in her hands, but it was her willingness to work hard in the defensive third that helped make this defence so dangerous. Will these two ball-hawks have the opportunity to feast on as many pressured feeds now that Langman has hung-up the Netburners?
4. Collingwood Magpies (2020 Ranking - #6)
In – Jacqui Newton (From Vixens)
Out – Matilda Garrett (To Thunderbirds)
For as gloomy as 2020 was for the Collingwood Magpies, the play of their defence was a rare shining light for their supporters.
Team Captain Geva Mentor played maybe the best season of her career. Her impressive 27 interceptions, a league-leading 108 deflections, 25 defensive rebounds and 70 gains earned her the starting Goal Keeper spot in the Team of the Year.
And new recruit Jodi-Ann Ward was a revelation at Goal Defence, racking up 29 interceptions, 48 deflections, 16 defensive rebounds and 54 gains.
It’s a really strong starting pairing that stood up to some serious heat last season all while allowing the fourth lowest points against total with 872.
High penalty numbers for Mentor and Ward as well as depth are the big concerns here, with the unproven Jacqui Newton coming across from the Vixens to replace the outgoing Matilda Garrett.
5. West Coast Fever (2020 Ranking - #5)
In – Sunday Aryang (Elevated training partner)
Out – Shannon Eagland (No contract)
This might be a big call but I think Sunday Aryang is the next netball superstar of this country and it’s time for Fever Head Coach Stacey Marinkovich to unleash her on this competition full-time.
Anyone who watched the most recent Constellation Cup series had to of liked what they saw with Courtney Bruce at GD. Her speed, anticipation and passing skills have always been her best attributes and to have them on display across two thirds of the court was something to behold.
I think that’s where she needs to play the majority of the season.
Enter Aryang at the now vacant GK position. She’s just so exciting and seemed to make a big statement every time she hit the court last season.
That leaves Stacey Francis to either play WD in a jumbo package defence or to spell Bruce at GD.
What’s holding them back from being one of our top four defences is that league-high 897 points allowed per game stat. That’s 64 points against per game! Let’s just say they’re very lucky Jhaniele Fowler averages that a game up the other end of the court.
6. Queensland Firebirds (2020 Ranking - #8)
In – NA
Out – NA
Prediction for when we do this exercise next year; the Firebirds will be one of the top three ranked defences.
23-year-old Kim Jenner is one of the most exciting defensive prospects in the country and is coming off a breakout 2020 season. The only thing holding Jenner back from being considered one of the competition’s elite GD’s is her penalty numbers. No player spent as much time standing next to her opponent because of penalties than Jenner, who committed a whopping 201 misdemeanours last season, 19 more than the next player.
Her defensive partner, Goal Keeper Tara Hinchliffe, had herself a solid 2020, finishing in the top ten for gains and defensive rebounds while also putting up some healthy interception and deflection numbers.
The reason why I think this group, along with Rudi Ellis, is poised to rise sharply up the rankings is because they are young (all 23 or under when the season starts), talented and have been playing together for a few years now. They kind of give me Swifts circa-2018 vibes.
If they can clean up their act and continue to build those all-important on-court connections, this will be a tough team to score against going forward.
7. Adelaide Thunderbirds (2020 Ranking - #4)
In – Matilda Garrett (From Magpies), Latanya Wilson (From Celtic Dragons)
Out – Layla Guscoth (No contract), Kate Shimmin (To Lightning)
The biggest mover this year is the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, they’re moving down from four to seven.
Last season, this group was stacked with high-calibre defenders. Shamera Sterling was fresh off one of the most impressive individual seasons of Super Netball ever, Layla Guscoth was set to return from an Achilles tendon tear, and they had one of the best backups in the comp in Kate Shimmin on the bench.
Coming into the 2021 season, things look very different.
Guscoth is no longer with the club, Shimmin is now up in Sippy Downs with the Lightning, Matilda Garrett has come across from the Magpies and 20-year-old Jamaican GD Latanya Wilson joins from the Vitality Super League.
There are three reasons they aren’t our number eight ranked team here and that’s the fact that Sterling is the best impact-defender in the league, they allowed the second lowest points against total last season with 797 and the 188cm Wilson may end up being an upgrade over Guscoth and Shimmin.
If, by the end of the season, that rings true, we’ll eat our words and tip a cap to the Tbirds list-makers. Until then, seventh feels right.
8. GIANTS Netball (2020 Ranking - #7)
In – April Brandley (Elevated training partner)
Out – Teigan O’Shannassy (No contract)
Last, but not least, are the GIANTS.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Kristiana Manu’a and I think Sam Poolman is a really solid GK. But when you compare this group to the seven teams above, the GIANTS lack of momentum changing defenders is alarming.
Midcourter Amy Parmenter led the team in both deflections and interceptions last season, with Jamie-Lee Price the next highest GIANT in those two categories.
The other issue here is that, not only did the GIANTS defenders fail to create those crucial turnovers, they also struggled to keep the opposition scoring down, allowing the second most points per game with 63.6.
April Brandley looked good in her brief appearances throughout the season and it will be interesting to see how Head Coach Julie Fitzgerald uses the former Magpie and Australian Diamond star, but she’s never been the kind of player who can cause the five or six turnovers this team desperately needs.
Plenty of work to be done here.
