When: Sunday 29 July, 3pmWhere: Hisense ArenaBroadcast: Telstra TV and the Netball Live app
Last time they met in Round 7:
GIANTS Netball (63) defeated Collingwood Magpies (60)
Mins in Possession
Gains
Intercepts
Deflections
Goal Shooting %
Giants
30
10
5
12
90
Magpies
29
16
7
10
90
Magpies fought hard, but the Giants had two big middle quarters – winning them collectively by eight goals – and despite a strong end to the game the Magpies came up short.
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Game talking points
Collingwood Magpies will be looking to make Sharni Layton’s last ever game in Melbourne a special occasion.
The Giants have the possibility of going to within one point of West Coast Fever ahead of their huge game against each other next weekend.
If the Magpies grab three points or more, they will go above the NSW Swifts and away from the second bottom position where they have sat for the majority of the season.
If Magpies want to win…
Erin Bell netted a fantastic mid-ranger right on the buzzer last weekend to get her team a much needed draw against the NSW Swifts, the Melbourne team will be hoping that will give her the confidence to kick on this weekend and offer much needed support to Caitlin Thwaites. Sharni Layton will be pumped, given that it’s going to be her last ever game in Melbourne – if she can harvest that energy into a powerful performance she could make life very difficult for the Giants front line.
If Giants want to win…
The Giants will be hoping the form of their key players will continue into the back end of the season. They are arguably one the most complete teams in the competition, but are almost unplayable when the likes of Kim Green and Jo Harten fire. Susan Pettitt, similar to Sharni Layton, will be playing in her second to last ever regular season netball game today and will equally as pumped up – if she too can utilise that energy to produce a performance then she will be tough to play against.
Key match ups:
The key match-up has to be between the two soon to be netball retirees in Sharni Layton (Magpies) and Susan Pettitt (Giants). For both players, every minute of netball they play from now until the end of the season will be emotional. Both will want to go out with a bang, so it’s going to be great to see them take each other for the very last time.
