By Paddy Regester
1. Melbourne Vixens (2020 ranking - #1)
In – Allie Smith (Elevated Training Partner)
Out – Tayla Honey (No contract)
No surprises here. For a second straight year, the Melbourne Vixens sit atop our midcourt rankings.
Melbourne’s inspirational co-captain Kate Moloney leads a group that has it all; an unstoppable offensive force, a shutdown Wing Defence; and a promising youngster who can fill all three positions if needed.
In all honesty, any team with Liz Watson lining up at Wing Attack would probably be at the top of our list. The Feeds and Goal Assists leader for the 2020 season might just be the best player on the planet right now.
The fact that this midcourt also includes maybe the league’s best Centre in Moloney, Kate Eddy disrupting opposition attack ends at Wing Defence and one for the country’s most exciting young talents in Allie Smith on the bench is just the whipped cream, cherry and sprinkles on top of the Vixens midcourt sundae.
2. Sunshine Coast Lightning (2020 ranking - #2)
In – Mahalia Cassidy (From Firebirds)
Out – Laura Langman (Retired), Jacqui Russell (Retired)
Ok, hear us out.
The Sunshine Coast Lightning, who just lost the legendary Laura Langman to retirement, has the second-best midcourt group in the competition.
Bringing in Mahalia Cassidy, who’s return from an ACL injury was one of the best stories from the 2020 season, to fill that vacant Centre roll was a stroke of genius by the Lightning front office.
Her tireless full-court play and ability to find her shooters in scoring positions should work brilliantly with Wing Attack Laura Scherian and the dogged Maddy McAuliffe at Wing Defence.
Losing Laura Langman is massive, there’s no way around it.
But, short of prying Moloney away from the Vixens or Paige Hadley from the Swifts, we think the Lightning have done enough to retain the second place on this list for a second straight year.
3. NSW Swifts (2020 ranking - #3)
In – Tayla Fraser (Elevated Training Partner)
Out – Sophie Craig (No contract)
Full disclosure, the NSW Swifts midcourt was number two on this list right up until it came time to writing the article.
On paper, this is a great group. Paige Hadley is one of the most dynamic midcourters in the world who can play all three positions at an incredibly high level, captain Maddy Proud is relentless and Nat Haythornthwaite is one of the smartest Wing Attacks in the game. Throw in youngster Tayla Fraser and this is, like we said, a great group.
The only reason why we couldn’t put them higher on this list is because of the lack of a true Wing Defence.
With Sophie Craig not returning to the team for the 2021 season, that means we could see a lot of Hadley at Wing Defence. While Paige can certainly hold her own at the position, I don’t think anyone would disagree with us when we say the Swifts are a better team when Hadley wears the C.
There’s so much talent in the Swifts midcourt and we’re sure that Head Coach Briony Akle will find a way to get the most out of them.
4. West Coast Fever (2020 ranking - #8)
In – Emma Cosh (Elevated Training Partner)
Out – Ingrid Colyer (No contract)
A year ago, we ranked this Fever midcourt as the worst in the league coming into the 2020 season. What a difference a year makes.
The big reason for the rise in the rankings for this group is the re-emergence of Verity Charles and Jess Anstiss as top tier mids and the awesome play of Emma Cosh at Wing Attack after the season ending injury to Ingrid Colyer.
What we really love about this group is the flexibility it offers Head Coach Stacey Marinkovich.
The high-intensity Anstiss, Charles and Cosh lineup from WD to WA works beautifully when it’s time to put the pedal to the metal and feed Jhaniele Fowler up forward.
And when things aren’t going their way, pushing Charles and Anstiss up to WA and C and slotting Stacey Francis into Wing Defence helps slow the game down.
Depth is the only issue here, with only three specialist midcourters on the roster coming into the season. Can this group help the Fever go one better in 2021?
5. GIANTS Netball (2020 ranking - #4)
In – NA
Out – NA
An unchanged but solid GIANTS midcourt takes the fifth spot in our rankings, but we expect this group to rise up the rankings when we do this again next year.
Jamie-Lee Price is a superstar who continues to improve her game every time she takes to the court. And 2019 Rebel Rising Star Amy Parmenter has already announced herself as one of the most exciting prospects in the sport and seems destined to don the green and gold sooner rather than later.
Maddie Hay, who had the unenviable job of taking over from the retiring Kim Green last season, showed plenty of promise at the Wing Attack position but still has plenty to prove.
If Hay can keep developing and Price and Parmenter can continue playing at a high level, this is a midcourt group with the potential to take the number one spot in the next few seasons.
Much like the Fever, depth could be an issue here. Last season, Kiera Austin spent plenty of time at the Wing Attack position, but with Caitlin Bassett out and Austin’s ability to hit those precious Super Shots, it will be interesting to see how often Head Coach Julie Fitzgerald takes Austin out of that shooting circle.
6. Queensland Firebirds (2020 ranking - #7)
In – Kim Ravaillion (From Magpies), Lara Dunkley (Elevated Training Partner)
Out – Mahalia Cassidy (To Lightning), Macy Gardner (Training Partner)
It’s going to be great to see Kim Ravaillion back in the Firebirds purple in 2021 but we’re not sure if adding her will be enough to cover the loss of Mahalia Cassidy.
In 2019, Ravaillion struggled to cement herself in the Magpies starting midcourt lineup and was eventually benched in favour of Ash Brazill. Firebirds fans will be hoping that 2019 was just an off year and that she’ll be able to rekindle that premiership winning relationship with Romelda Aiken, Gretel Tippett and Gabi Simpson.
While we’re on Gabi Simpson, let’s talk about the incredible season she just had. The heart and soul of this team and the starting Wing Defence of the 2020 Team of the Year was back to her blistering best.
Fast, fearless and inspirational, Simpson needs to be all these things again if this team is going to play post-season netball for the first time since 2018.
Well, that and either Jemma Mi Mi or Lara Dunkley stepping up and making that Wing Attack position theirs going forward.
7. Collingwood Magpies (2020 ranking - #6)
In – Molly Jovic (Elevated Training Partner)
Out – Kim Ravaillion (To Firebirds), Madi Browne (Vitality Netball Superleague)
The decision to put the Magpies at seven or eight was the hardest one of this entire list.
In the end, we’re backing in the Magpies, who will welcome back two of the best midcourt players in the game in Ash Brazill and Kelsey Browne.
The two biggest question marks for this group are will those two be back to pre-injury levels of play and can they cover the loss of Madi Browne and Kim Ravaillion?
We liked what we saw out of Molly Jovic last season, who’s solid play in 2020 earned her a full-time contract. We expect her to get the start at Centre with Browne and Brazill at WA and WD.
But don’t count out Mel Bragg, who was really impressive at WD last year. If Braz is back and flying and Jovic isn’t giving them the drive that they need through the middle, don’t be surprised to see the Centre bib thrown to Braz and Bragg to get 60 minutes a game behind her.
There’s some really intriguing pieces and storylines surrounding this midcourt group, but there’s just too many unanswered questions for us to rank the Magpies any higher than seventh right now.
8. Adelaide Thunderbirds (2020 ranking - #5)
In – Elle McDonald (From Vixens)
Out – Chelsea Pitman (No contract)
While we like some of the names in the group, for some reason they haven’t been able to have those games where they truly dictate the flow and momentum of a game like the other groups above them.
Shadine Van Der Merwe is as solid as they come at Wing Defence, but just doesn’t make those game changing plays we now expect WD’s to make once or twice a match.
Hannah Petty has shown flashes at Centre but doesn’t seem to have that something extra that makes a Centre something more than just the player who takes every second centre pass.
And, after the massive year that Rebel Rising Star Maisie Nankivell had in 2020, she may already be on the way out as the starting Centre.
Nankivell can play all over the midcourt, and with Chelsea Pitman let go by the Thunderbirds at the end of the season, they may be tempted to play her at the Wing Attack position.
Don’t be surprised if they turn to new recruit Elle McDonald to start at Wing Attack, who looked impressive in the rare moments she took to the court for the Vixens last season.
