By Matt Fotia
The Sunshine Coast Lightning are back in premiership contention for the first time in three years, despite a loss to the Thunderbirds on Sunday.
The Lightning finished the home and away season in fourth spot, besting the Melbourne Mavericks on percentage, and entered the final round of the regular season with the knowledge they would be returning to the finals for the first time since 2021.
Perhaps spurred on by the freedom of that knowledge, the Lightning took it up to the reigning champions and posed a constant attacking threat to the league’s best defensive unit.
Star goal shooter Cara Koenen, who left the court late in the second quarter, believes Sunday’s performance is something for Lightning fans to get excited about.
“To put up 62 goals against the best defensive line in the league is something we will take a lot of confidence from heading into finals,” Koenen explained.
“It’s always a great contest (against the Thunderbirds defence).
“They have such versatility in Tilly (Garrett), Latty (Wilson) and Shamera (Sterling-Humphrey), they all bring something so different.
“It was a great challenge for Steph (Fretwell), myself and Charlie (Bell) coming in, to test all of our tools in our toolkit.
“What’s exciting is that we really took it to them, but we still have a lot to build on.”
Koenen left the court briefly at the end of the second quarter after a knock to the arm.With young long-range shooter Reilley Batcheldor, a late withdrawal from the game with a knee complaint, much of the Super Shot work was left to the Lightning’s Steph Fretwell once again.
Fretwell was unhampered by the increased load, finishing the game with 29 goals, including 9 Super Shots, along with 10 assists.
Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds is eager to see more Fretwell brilliance over the next month of netball.
“She’s just special when it gets to this time of the year,” Reynolds said.
“She loves the challenges, she thrives on pressure, she always says she wants to walk towards it.
“The last few weeks we’ve been seeing her best netball again, which is great, peaking at the right time.”
Reynolds made some positional changes which caught the eye in the final quarter of Sunday’s loss, particularly the move of Liz Watson into centre, swapping Leesa Mi Mi into wing attack.
Watson is no stranger to the centre bib but has established herself as the world’s best wing attack in recent years.
Reynolds intimated that the move was not an impulsive decision and that it could be something we see more of should the Lightning progress deep into finals.
“We’ve been training it, keeping that option up our sleeve,” Reynolds stated.
“Liz is a great feeder, so we always want her close to the circle edge, but Leesa’s dynamic movement means she can get there just as well.
“Liz has that strong defensive mindset and is really experienced in these moments, so to be able to have that at both ends of the court is a real bonus as well.”
Reynolds will be calling upon the experience of her stars in Sunday’s Minor Semi Final against the Fever, as the Lightning attempt to win their first final since their 2018 Grand Final success.
Koenen, who was a part of the Lightning’s 2017 and 2018 premierships, said this iteration of the Lightning had spoken about emulating the success of those early Sunshine Coast sides.
“We’ve spoken a lot as a unit about really treasuring the ball in attack and being the most patient team,” Koenen said.
“In 2017 and 2018 we were known in the league for being so frustrating because we wouldn’t give the ball up and we really want to get back to that brand of netball.
“We had glimpses of it tonight, where we were able to open up space, around any defence line, using that ball speed and creativity.
“It’s a good spot for us to be in, but I don’t think you’ve seen the best from us.”
