Five things we learned: SSN Round 4

By Sophie Taylor

One month down of Suncorp Super Netball action, and the surprises keep on coming.

Two teams remain undefeated while one banked the first win of the club's history and plenty of players marked their territory during Inclusion Round.

These are the five things we learned across the fourth round of Suncorp Super Netball action.

MAVERICKS MAKE HISTORY

A history-making one-goal victory was a huge load off the shoulders for head coach Tracey Neville and her broader team, after the Melbourne Mavericks defeated the Sunshine Coast Lightning at UniSC Arena.

A challenging and injury-prone start to the year made the victory all the sweeter, as players got around each other to celebrate their first victory against all odds.

The Lightning appeared to maintain control for majority of the contest, but even with a four-goal deficit and just a little more than one-minute left on the clockthe Mavericks refused to give up.

It was that determination – and back-to-back Suncorp Super Shots from Gabby Sinclair – that earned the Mavs their first ‘W’ on the board.

Molly Jovic provided some much-needed stability in the Mavericks attack, controlling the airways with 25 goal assists to her name.

Despite handling much less of the ball and drawing plenty of whistle, the Mavericks had one more gain on their stat sheet and manufactured great momentum through Sinclair’s Suncorp Super Shots to run down the ailing Sunshine Coast.

LADDER POSITIONS DON’T TELL THE FULL STORY

Two undefeated teams have continued their strong form and the top four remains the same for the second week in a row, but it’s the bottom half of the ladder that is keeping fans guessing.

Three teams are locked in a bottom half logjam, with the Lightning, Firebirds and Mavericks all sitting on one win apiece and only separated by percentage.

Despite boasting incredible international talent, the Lightning have lacked depth this season and fell short again this week – with preseason expectations certainly hurting them right now.

Queensland Firebirds sit narrowly behind the Lightning on the ladder – just 0.36% behind, in fact.

But while the Lightning haven’t quite hit the highs that were expected of them, it appears to be the opposite for the Firebirds who have been unlucky with a couple of results, and ultimately had a better start to the season than their sixth ranking suggests.

It’s a similar story for the Mavericks, who have shown great improvement week on week and deserve a higher spot on the ladder than their seventh place relegation.

With only a small percentage separating the Mavs from the two Queensland sides, round five will almost certainly change some ladder positions.

MIDCOURTERS MAKE THEIR MARK

While circle players appear to have taken many of the accolades early in the season, round four was well and truly the round of the midcourter.

With three midcourters taking out player of the match accolades, game smarts and less predictable movement became the name of the game to create some dominant performances.

Jovic took control of the Mavericks’ midcourt and proved pivotal with her defensive smarts (two gains, six pickups), while Liz Watson registered 30 assists from a whopping 48 feeds.

Tayla Williams was also immense, picking up four gains (three intercepts) to go with her 20 goal assists, while elsewhere, Hannah Mundy made herself known with 23 goal assists from 34 feeds, 23 centre pass receives and four pickup.

Kelsey Browne used her speed to pick off three deflections while Alice Teague-Neeld had 30 centre pass receives.

Defensively, Jess Anstiss may not have gotten the stats to her name but played a key role in shutting down NSW Swifts feeders Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley, while Kate Eddy was an unsung hero with three intercepts against a fired-up Firebirds outfit.

INJURY CONCERNS

Injury scares were a big focus of the round, with Lightning’s Ava Black and Vixens’ Zara Walters ruled out of action prior to the round even beginning.

The drama didn’t stop there though, with the battle between the Lightning and Mavericks heating up early and seeing ankle tweaks aplenty.

International stars Courtney Bruce and Eleanor Cardwell sat out much of an enthralling final term of action.

While both were huge losses they ultimately counted each other out in that match, but will be a real question mark in fans’ minds coming into round five.

The Lightning have already been in the wars this season, with that potential Bruce niggle and Mahalia Cassidy's knock a concern off the back of managing Fretwell’s nasty roll back in round two.

 With no timeline officially provided regarding Black’s return – but in a moonboot on the weekend – the Lightning will be hoping for some positive news this week.

Meanwhile for the Vixens, the loss of in-form Walters is a big blow for the young gun. Fortunately, the return of Mundy could not have come at a better time, making for an intriguing week on the training court.

STATS WRAP

Unsurprisingly, Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard remains top of the tables in several categories – namely, Nissan Net Points (490.5), goals (243) and attempts (248).

Sophie Dwyer and Kiera Austin have not shied away from the Suncorp Super Shot, sitting equal first with 32 attempts apiece, and both within the top five for successful attempts. Helen Housby sits top of the table for successful shots with 22 to her name from 29 attempts.

Teague-Neeld remains on top of the goal assists leaderboard with 107 to her name, followed closely by Watson (96), while another Fever talent in Shanice Beckford joins Teague-Neeld and Watson as equal leaders in the centre pass receives category with 86 apiece.

Romelda Aiken-George retains top spot for offensive rebounds with 22 to her name, while Remi Kamo has jumped ahead of Sarah Klau and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey for defensive rebounds (10).

Sterling is not to be beaten elsewhere though, holding strong atop the deflections and intercepts tallies with 27 and 15 to her name.

Teammate Latanya Wilson is a close second for intercepts with 14, while Sunday Aryang and Ash Ervin have taken second and third for deflections with 26 and 25 respectively.