By Sophie Taylor
Nothing is a given in Suncorp Super Netball, with another enormous round challenging everything we thought we knew about the 2024 season.
These are the five things we learned in Round 6.
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE
Six rounds down, and just the West Coast Fever remain undefeated after the Melbourne Vixens succumbed to a startling Lightning outfit over the weekend.
It certainly wasn’t the high-powered Fever result we have become accustomed to seeing though, with the side challenged every step of the way by the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
Just one goal and a Lucy Austin Suncorp Super Shot miss separated the two sides at the final buzzer, with even battles fought across the court on Fever home soil.
In a match of defensive brilliance, it all came down to a whirlwind final minute of action as the Fever came up trumps once again.
Meanwhile, the Vixens could not contend with the fired-up Lightning, falling to their first loss of the season by seven goals after trailing by as much as 11.
The top four has tightened again slightly following the Vixens loss, with the Thunderbirds sitting third with two losses to their name – and a greater percentage.
The Swifts trail the pack with a 3-3 record, separating the contenders from the bottom half of the ladder.
The Lightning and Mavericks have pulled away slightly, now sitting on two wins apiece after huge results on the weekend.
NSW Swifts claimed the Sydney derby.LIGHTNING DEFENCE HUMS
With Courtney Bruce still missing from the Lightning defensive end, this week’s clash with the Vixens was a tough task and one many expected to go the way of the Vixens.
But with a challenging week behind them and a fire in the belly, the Lightning burst out of the blocks and did not relent throughout the clash.
While the Lightning attack undoubtedly got the job done, it was the defensive end that well and truly drained the Vixens attack and propelled the side forward at every turn.
Missing Bruce for the second week in a row, question marks hovered over the new-look combination of Tara Hinchliffe and Ash Ervin.
They needn’t have.
Ervin’s long arms proved a tough task for the usually clinical Vixens, unable to find a way over the young goal keeper.
When the Vixens couldn’t go over Ervin, they tried to go around – to no avail, thanks to Hinchliffe’s evasiveness and ability to win ball over and over.
The defensive duo’s ability to deflect the ball into their attackers’ waiting hands was crucial, giving the Vixens no opportunity to claim ball off the side’s deflections.
The Lightning scored a whopping 17 goals off gains, with the defensive duo earning nine gains apiece and combining for just 14 penalties between them.
EDDY A BIGGER LOSS THAN SUSPECTED
On the flip side of the Vixens and Lightning clash, the loss of Kate Eddy to injury proved much bigger than many would have initially suspected.
Missing Eddy due to a lower leg injury sustained in Round 5, the Vixens lacked that extra bit of punch in their defensive end, even with Rudi Ellis pulling on the wing defence bib for the second time in two weeks.
Liz Watson ran rampant against her former club.Lacking Eddy’s work in transition, the Vixens did not look like their typical selves on court, forced to go long on more than one occasion and ultimately finding the hunting hands of the Lightning defensive unit.
The loss of Eddy also played into the Lightning’s hands in attack, too, with former Vixens wing attack Liz Watson relishing every second against her former team.
Watson finished with 36 centre pass receives, nine second phase receives and 22 goal assists off 45 feeds.
The Vixens have a tough task ahead of them in Round 7with the Fever up next – in Perth – so will hope they can get Eddy back to fighting form by then.
JAMAICAN EXCELLENCE
The Suncorp Super Netball league has no shortage of international superstars, but the clash between the West Coast Fever and Adelaide Thunderbirds well and truly showcased the Jamaican excellence the competition hosts.
With six Jamaican Sunshine Girls split evenly between the two teams, the battle was fierce and full of flair.
Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard is no easybeat, and with the likes of Shanice Beckford serving her the ball on a silver platter, the Fever had no issue with scoring.
However, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson would not let it all go the Fever’s way, picking off deflections left, right and centre.
At the other end, Romelda Aiken-George and Kadie-Ann Dehaney went head-to-head in another enormous battle which well and truly highlighted the impressive agility and elevation of the Jamaican superstars.
All close friends off the court, the six players united after the match for a brilliant Jamaican team moment, sharing a dance for the remaining crowd.
Elsewhere, Maverick Shimona Jok won the player of the match award for her impressive 50-goal game against the Firebirds, while Jodi-Ann Ward worked in overdrive in the Sydney derby.
Shimona Jok was one of many high-performing Jamaicans this week.STATS WRAP
A surprise to no one, Fowler-Nembhard remains atop the Nissan Net Points leaderboard with 690.5 points to her name.
With 355 goals to her name from 363 attempts, Fowler-Nembhard has scored more than 100 goals more than Donnell Wallam in second on the leaderboard.
Sterling-Humphrey leads the pack for deflections with 43, while Wilson has drawn even with Sterling-Humphrey for intercepts with 20 apiece.
Under the post, Aiken-George remains on top for offensive rebounds (30), while Fran Williams leads the defensive stat with 13.
Helen Housby continues to reign supreme on the Suncorp Super Shot with 39 to her name for the season from 55 attempts, ahead of Sophie Dwyer (31 from 48).
Watson tops both the midcourt categories after a few big weeks, leading goal assists (154) and centre pass receives (155).
