It was a bit of a strange feeling not being out there with the girls, but I absolutely loved my new viewpoint from the commentary box and also being able to sit back and watch four incredible contests, and I can’t wait to see what all eight teams put out there in Round 2.
Just as exciting was the introduction of Nissan Net Points, which is netball’s equivalent of what the AFL and NRL do with SuperCoach points – these points really are history in the making for our sport.
I was chatting to Liz Ellis and she was saying she would have loved to have had Net Points when she was still playing. But she also gloated (jokingly) that she’ll forever be the best because no one can ever say whether Shamera Sterling got more intercepts or not! And I agree!
With Nissan Net Points, for the first time we can really dig into the influence players are having on a game, with every goal, intercept, centre pass receive and all of the other Champion Data statistics given a points value that add up across a game.
In case you missed it, here’s how Nissan Net Points are allocated to pretty much everything that happens on court!
STERLING AN INSTANT NET POINTS STAR
For me, there were a few big takeouts from Round 1.
Firstly, how bloody good was Shamera Sterling (106 points – second in the league)?! Although as a GK – I shouldn’t be surprised!
Having her come over in a World Cup year and get 106 points while playing on Jhaniele Fowler in Round 1 is phenomenal. To put that in context, Geva Mentor, who’s arguably the best goal keeper in the world at the moment and had a really good game against the Lightning, finished with 79.5 points.
I’m excited to see what Sterling is going to be all about as she progresses throughout the year. How much trouble is she going to cause in the World Cup for her opponents?
So how did she rack up 106 points?
Intercepts are the highest scoring Nissan Net Points statistic at 10 points, and she had FIVE of them. She also had two deflections with a gain (eight points each), a whopping nine deflections without a gain (four points each) and three defensive rebounds (six points)
NET POINTS GUIDE:
| Statistic |
Net Points |
| Centre Pass |
+0.5 |
| Centre Pass Receive |
+1 |
| Feed - Without Attempt |
+1 |
| Feed - With Attempt |
+1.5 |
| Feed - With Goal Assist |
+2 |
| Goal |
+2 |
| Missed Goal |
-1 |
| Missed Goal With Turnover |
-8 |
| Offensive Rebound From Self |
+1 |
| Offensive Rebound From Other |
+3 |
| Defensive Rebound |
+6 |
| Deflection - Without Gain |
+4 |
| Deflection - With Gain |
+8 |
| Intercept |
+10 |
| Pickup From Opponents Deflection |
+4 |
| Pickup From Teammates Deflection |
+8 |
| Block |
+5 |
| Block To Advantage |
+10 |
| Turnover - Interception |
-10 |
| Turnover - Other |
-8 |
| Penalty |
-0.5 |
The reason that intercepts are worth 10 points and tips are worth up to eight is that they’re so hard to get. And yet she had a heap of them.
You’ve got to remember this is her first time at this level, which is arguably a step up even from the international level she’s been playing at, as Suncorp Super Netball has a number of the world’s absolute elite players in each team.
For her to come into this competition after being in a Jamaican team that has strengths but also weaknesses at this current point in time, and just bang out that many intercepts, is phenomenal.
To learn more about Nissan Net Points and how they work, click on the Net Points tag.
