Laura Geitz, Susan Pettitt and Madi Robinson all retired from international netball last week, which has paved the way for a new-look Diamonds to take to the court later this year. Plenty of new faces were picked and plenty more could still force their way in as the Suncorp Super Netball competition heads into the final three rounds.
Not retired, just on leave
Renae Ingles has become the latest super mum of Australian netball. After Laura Geitz returned from the birth of her son Barney to reclaim her spot with the Samsung Diamonds at the Commonwealth Games, Ingles has done the same thing after she and her NBA star husband Joe Ingles welcomed twins into the world. Many thought Ingles had retired from the sport, but she has returned to her brilliant best for the Melbourne Vixens this season. And Diamonds Head Coach Lisa Alexander was quick to point out that Ingles never retired: “She was only on maternity leave”.
Geitz turns in vintage performance
Speaking of Laura Geitz, if the Queensland Firebirds make a serious push for the Suncorp Super Netball title this season they can thank their star goalkeeper for turning their season around. Consecutive losses on the buzzer threatened to bounce the Firebirds out of the Rebel Sport ladder’s top four. But, Geitz, who recently announced her retirement from international netball, took them on her shoulders to record an important win over the Giants. The telling stats were the fact that the Giants only managed to score nine and 10 goals in the second and third quarters. That sort of lockdown defence can win titles.
Mannix hoping to return to Vixens for finals
The Melbourne Vixens are surging up the Suncorp Super Netball ladder and recorded their fifth consecutive victory at the weekend. It came as no surprise then that Renae Ingles, Tegan Philip, Kate Moloney, Liz Watson, Jo Weston and the injured Emily Mannix were all selected in the Diamonds squad for the upcoming Quad Series and Constellation Cup. Mannix is hoping to return to the court before the end of the season after dislocating her finger and she described her elation at being selected.
“It has been a really rough couple of weeks with my little pinkie,” she said.
“This is a great opportunity to get in the squad and show what I’ve got.”
Sharpshooting C Bass
The Sunshine Coast Lightning effectively ended the season of the Collingwood Magpies at the weekend. The win not only keeps the Lightning in the hunt for back-to-back titles, but also marked an important milestone for skipper and Samsung Diamond Caitlin Bassett. She became only the second player to shoot more than 1000 Suncorp Super Netball goals.
New recruit for Swifts
While the NSW Swifts are now reaching for calculators to determine their Suncorp Super Netball finals fate, they have a new weapon in their artillery to push for post-season action. Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Natalie Haythornthwaite has joined the squad after winning the English Super League title with Wasps Netball. She played against the West Coast Fever after only being in the country for two days but will be better for a week’s rest. The Swifts will need to win all three of their remaining fixtures, collect a swag of bonus points and hope results go their way if they want to finish in the top four.
Wing attack the contentious position for Diamonds
The door is not shut on players not selected for the Diamonds, with up to five spots left to fill. There was only one wing attack picked, with Alexander wanting to see how the other options perform under the pressures of finals netball. The final squad will be announced after the Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final.
