Must-win fixtures in a monster Round 11

By Matt Fotia 

It’s getting tight at the top this season. 

The Vixens, Fever and Thunderbirds are looking increasingly ruthless with every passing week as they seek to claim favouritism with finals around the corner, while the chasing pack continue to clamour for the final spot in the four. 

Can the Lightning maintain their advantage, or will the Mavericks throw the next punch in an action packed Round 11? 

LIGHTNING DOESN’T STRIKE TWICE 

Last time the Lightning took on the GIANTS it was interesting to say the least. 

The GIANTS came away with their first win of the season thanks to a supercharged extra time performance, led by the fresh legs of Matisse Letherbarrow who came off the bench to shoot six goals and three Super Shots, propelling the GIANTS to a massive 86-80 win at Ken Rosewall Arena. 

It left the Lightning in a spot of bother.  

The Sunshine Coast outfit were sitting 1-4 after a promising Round 1 win over the Swifts and without three members of the contracted 10, with Courtney Bruce, Ava Black, and Mahalia Cassidy all injured. 

Fast forward to Round 11 and the Lightning are a different outfit.  

They’ve since scored wins over the Vixens, Swifts and Firebirds, have pushed the top two sides right to the limit and look odds on to claim the final spot in the top four. 

Bruce’s absence opened the door for youngster Ashleigh Ervin to develop into one of the competition’s best circle defenders. 

The Queenslander was enormous during Bruce’s lay-off and is ranked in the top five for deflections, gains, and defensive rebounds this season. Her development has eased the pressure on Bruce to return to her commanding best as well, allowing the Diamonds star to build her match minutes conservatively.  

The GIANTS have been in a win-loss-win-loss spiral since that Round 5 win over the Lightning and have struggled to get any real momentum into their season. 

They had next to no flow in their Round 10 loss to the Thunderbirds, finishing the match with just 45 attempts on goal as they recorded their lowest score in Super Netball history – 42. 

They’ll be keen to keep their hands on the ball more efficiently against a Lightning side packed with ball winners after they managed to score from just 52% of their centre passes last weekend and gave away 31 turnovers in a poor night with ball in hand. 

One thing that will play in the GIANTS favour this weekend is the freedom that comes with lower expectations. All eyes will be on the Lightning with the assumption that they bank the four points on Sunday afternoon and keep the Mavericks at bay for another week. 

THE REST OF ROUND 11 

Sunday gets started at John Cain Arena as the Sargeant-McKinnis cup returns for the second time in 2024. 

The Vixens came through a tough Sunshine Coast shaped challenge in Round 10 to claim win number nine on Saturday night, with long-term training partner Sharni Lambden impressing in an unlikely start. 

Lambden had 3 gains, 3 deflections, 2 pickups and an intercept in her battle with Diamonds captain Liz Watson and lost no admirers in the process. 

The Swifts were strong from long range in their seven-goal loss to the Fever in Perth, finishing the high scoring battle with 18 Super Shots from 26 attempts, their most for 2024. 

In Round 5 against the Vixens, the Swifts attempted 21 Super Shots and with a shooting circle of Housby (91 attempts, most in the SSN) and Fawns (62 attempts, 4th most), we can expect them to lean further into this two-point assault as they look to get back on the winners list for the first time since Round 6. 

Saturday night netball returns to Adelaide in Round 11 as the Melbourne Mavericks look to continue their march towards the top four. 

They’ll need to be better than they were back in Round 5, where they managed just 37 goals against the Thunderbirds in a low moment for the competition newcomers. 

Punters will be keen to see Molly Jovic and Tayla Williams go head-to-head in the centre. 

Both players are in career-best form and are making an unlikely push for team of the year contention.  

Jovic has become a real attacking threat for the Mavericks in 2024, sitting 3rd for assists and 4th for circle feeds, while Williams is the number one ranked defensive centre in the league. 

Fans of the big score will be keeping an eye on the opening fixture of the weekend as the Fever visit Nissan Arena to take on the Queensland Firebirds. 

The Fever has pushed past the 90 mark in their two most recent encounters with the Firebirds and looked clinical in their high-scoring win over the Swifts last week. 

Queensland are a much better outfit on their home court though and took it right up to the Fever in this corresponding fixture last season, going down 71-73.  

They’ll have their work cut out for them this time around as the Fever look to keep pace with the ladder-leading Vixens.