By Paddy Regester
This week marks the fifth time that the Suncorp Super Netball league will have a Round 2 of the season. No surprises here, it’s the fifth season of the SSN.
What is surprising is how important the second round of the season can be.
Since the 2017 season, we have seen 11 teams fall to 0 and 2 after two rounds. Doesn’t seem like that big of a hole to climb out of, right? Well, incredibly enough, out of those 11 teams, only one has gone on to play finals that year: the 2018 Premiership winning Lightning.
So, let’s break down this sneaky crucial round of netball and see how our four 0-1 teams can avoid falling behind.
GIANTS Netball vs Collingwood Magpies – Saturday, 3pm AEST, Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney - Tickets
Tough week on the injury front for these two clubs who are desperately trying to get back into the finals this year.
GIANTS shooter Kiera Austin going down with what proved to be a torn ACL last Sunday against the Thunderbirds really soured what was a strong win for the GIANTS, their first Round 1 victory since 2018. They’ll also be without Vice-captain Kristiana Manu’a again this weekend with a calf strain.
And for the Magpies, who were ravaged by injury in 2020, they’ll be without Captain Geva Mentor and midcourter Molly Jovic who both came away from the club’s Round 1 loss to the Lightning with dings.
The big question is, which team can cover these key losses better when they meet at the brand-new Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney’s Olympic Park?
The GIANTS have had the better of the Magpies since the two clubs were founded, beating them in eight of their nine matches against each other, and a GIANTS win on Saturday would make it eight straight for the girls in orange.
Expect to see plenty of Sophie Dwyer, who should be named the starting GA for the GIANTS from now on, and maybe even some Matisse Letherbarrow action who has been elevated to the playing squad for Austin.
For the Magpies, they need to find a way to tap into the immense talent that is Shimona Nelson. The potential is all there, the big Jamaican just needs to string four quarters of consistent play together. Hopefully as Kelsey Browne and Ash Brazill return to their peak fitness, this attack end can catch fire.
West Coast Fever vs NSW Swifts – Saturday, 8pm AEST, RAC Arena, Perth – Tickets
My tip for match of the round should be a high-scoring, Saturday night, prime time, ripper between two teams coming off emotional Round 1 wins.
The Fever, who had the off-season from hell, came out with a lot to prove against the Vixens last week, and they were impressive, outscoring the reigning champs in all four quarters on their way to a 14-point win.
And the Swifts will forever be known as the first team to win a Suncorp Super Netball game in extra time, after they dispatched the Firebirds in the fifth period of their Round 1 clash last Sunday.
Expect plenty of scoring in this one, as two of the most talented attack ends go head-to-head.
The Fever, 2020’s highest scoring team, will lean on three-time MVP Jhaniele Fowler but should also be excited by what they saw out of the Alice Teague-Neeld and Sasha Glasgow partnership at GA in Round 1.
And the Swifts, 2020’s second highest scoring team, should have the firepower to stick with the Fever, particularly if Sam Wallace can shoot at 100% again like she did against the Firebirds last weekend.
But do not sleep on the defensive setups of these two clubs, with massive names like Courtney Bruce and Sarah Klau running around at GK and Fever young gun Sunday Aryang turning heads wherever she’s lined up.
What better way to spend a Saturday night than watching two of the best teams in the league go at it?
Melbourne Vixens vs Sunshine Coast Lightning – Sunday 1pm AEST, John Cain Arena, Melbourne – Tickets
If Saturday night’s blockbuster wasn’t enough for you, how about this absolute beauty at John Cain Arena between the Melbourne Vixens and the Sunshine Coast Lightning?
A replay of last year’s major semi-final, this one has a lot riding on it for the Vixens, who of course won that aforementioned semi-final. They struggled to keep up with the Fever in Round 1, who blew them out in the opening half, held them off in the third then punished them in fourth, and will be looking to work out what kind of team they are going to be this season.
We all know the struggles here. A new look shooting circle with Kaylia Stanton and Ruby Barkmeyer needs to find their footing alongside Mwai Kumwenda and someone needs to step up as that steady feeder that they are missing now that Liz Watson is out.
The opposite is true for the Lightning, who cruised to victory against the Magpies in week one. They outscored Collingwood in all four quarters on their way to an 11-point win and looked in control from the opening pass.
Sunshine Coast fans will love what they saw from new recruit Mahalia Cassidy in her first game for the team. She slotted straight into that already strong midcourt with Laura Scherian and Maddy McAulliffe and looks to be the perfect choice to replace Laura Langman at C.
But don’t count out this Vixens team just yet.
Like I said, they need to find their identity and I think that should start with leaning on that super stout defence. We know all about Jo Weston and Emily Mannix, who are an elite starting pairing at GD and GK. But what we saw from Kadie-Ann Dehaney in the second half last week was a great reminder that the Vixens are stacked in the defence.
Big test for the Vixens, who will not want to drop two in a row at home to start the season. So, expect this one to be a grind, filled with emotion and watched by a fired-up crowd.
Queensland Firebirds vs Adelaide Thunderbirds – Sunday 3pm AEST, Nissan Arena, Brisbane – Tickets
The Battle of the Birds. The Battle of the Birdcage. The Rumble in the Aviary. Whatever you want to call it, let’s hope the final match of Round 2 lives up to the name.
Both teams should be smarting after disappointing Round 1 losses… well, disappointing in very different ways.
The Firebirds should be thrilled with their performance against a really good Swifts team but will be a little salty they couldn’t finish the job in extra-time.
The Thunderbirds will be disappointed in their lack-lustre performance against the GIANTS on Sunday and will be looking to tighten things up on the road.
And they are up for a major test against a Firebirds team that looked every bit as good on the court as it did on paper leading into the season.
Gretel Bueta looked as athletic as ever but made a few mistakes that you would expect from a player who’s sat out for a year. Kim Ravaillion could have been best on court last week in her return, Jemma Mi Mi and Lara Dunkley looked quick running the WA position and Gabi Simpson was her incredible self at WD.
An area of concern for the Firebirds has to be the penalty count, which was eye-wateringly high against the Swifts and could be the lifeline the Thunderbirds need if Queensland are firing.
But, after last week’s performance, the Thunderbirds will need more than that to win The Rumble in the Aviary. They look messy and, as one viewer on Twitter put it, like a bunch of local netballers who were meeting each other for the first time when the bibs were being handed out... rough but maybe fair.
Superstar GK Shamera Sterling is going to have to be immense against this three-headed monster of an attack end and Georgie Horjus cannot go 0 from 3 from Super Shot land again.
