Final week we contemplated whether or not the league was as shut as had been talked up within the pre-season after watching three one-sided matches.
However in spherical three, Tremendous Netball – largely – acquired again to its entertaining finest, with two extra-time thrillers.
In a bizarre coincidence, each of those contests had been received by the visiting crew and by a margin of 4 objectives, because the Adelaide Thunderbirds beat the Sunshine Coast Lightning, 60-56, and the NSW Swifts claimed their State of Origin-style conflict in opposition to the Queensland Firebirds, 77-73.
In the meantime, regardless of shedding a 3rd straight match, the Melbourne Mavericks will probably be proud they had been the primary crew to actually problem the ladder-leading West Coast Fever.
The brand new facet solely went down by seven objectives, 69-62, after the Fever demolished extra established groups just like the Giants (19 objectives) and Lightning in earlier rounds (25 objectives).
The one lowlight of the weekend got here within the ultimate recreation between the Giants and Melbourne Vixens.
The Vixens are the one crew alongside Fever to nonetheless stay undefeated as they handed the western Sydney-based facet their second 19-goal loss within the house of three weeks, 63-44.
For those who missed it, don’t fret – we have got you lined with our Tremendous Netball Spherical-Up.
Jok shocks in purpose keeper
It was possible Jamaican Shimona Jok was going to get a call-up and make her Mavs debut main into spherical three, after the brand new crew struggled to discover a strong goal of their first couple of video games.
However no person fairly anticipated we might see their eleventh participant donning a purpose keeper bib.
Talking with ABC Sport a few weeks in the past, Jok did say to count on the surprising and that she’d change into an entire new participant since getting married and altering her final title within the low season, however we extra so anticipated that she was alluding to a cameo in purpose assault.
For those who knew little about netball and simply noticed Jok (195cm) and fellow Sunshine Women shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard’s peak on paper (198cm), you may need thought this was an apparent match-up between the Mavericks and Fever.
However Jok has not often ventured removed from that GS place throughout her time on the high, making this a really left-field determination by coach Tracey Neville.
It was already a giant deal that Jok had been named because the facet’s beginning purpose shooter and when the switch-up within the second tremendous shot interval of the sport got here, it shocked followers and Fever alike.
Jamaica has type utilizing their tall timbers at both finish after all, as we have seen with Romelda Aiken-George earlier in her profession, nevertheless, that was one thing she did developing by the pathways and we have by no means seen them do it with Jok.
Jok spent roughly 10 minutes in GK, earlier than switching again to shoot halfway by the third quarter. Then she went again to defend Fowler-Nembhard for the ultimate six minutes of the match.
In that point, Jok managed three deflections and helped flip the ball over a couple of occasions, so needs to be pleased with her efforts to deal with no matter function the crew wanted her to play.
If she will get two arms to the ball, Jok might change into a extremely helpful choice in defence, which isn’t a sentence we might ever imagined we might be writing at the beginning of the season.
Put up-match, Neville teased reporters, unwilling to offer away how lengthy she’d had that trick up her sleeve. In hindsight, perhaps we should not have been so stunned, because the Mavericks model is all about being daring and Neville was sat proper beside a recreation altering participant for the press convention in Eleanor Cardwell that had additionally switched ends underneath her steering years in the past.
“That is being a Maverick, is not it? It was a bit of little bit of a secret,” Neville mentioned.
“I feel you earn the suitable to be in an setting and Shimona has she’s been working actually onerous, we did put numerous stress on her immediately by throwing her down in that keeper finish, however it was a present of her character.”
“For somebody that has performed purpose shooter predominantly in her profession and has been established in that place to have the ability to do this confirmed true spirit.
“So, for us she did a job immediately and her contribution to the sport was wonderful.”
Liz Watson critique excessive
In the direction of the top of the Lightning’s contest in opposition to the Thunderbirds, with the sport on the road, there was a key second that drew criticism from a Diamonds centurion.
With simply two minutes to go, Australian captain Liz Watson had the ball in her arms in simply her third recreation for the Sunshine Coast since transferring north from the Melbourne Vixens.
The midcourter regarded into the circle, noticed no choices to feed to and as a substitute tried to offer a brief, flat go to Lightning purpose assault Steph Fretwell earlier than Thunderbirds wing defence Latty Wilson used her closing velocity to drive by the house and cost down the ball.
Wilson could not get two arms to it, as a substitute batting it down onto her shoe, which then despatched the ball rolling in direction of her Thunderbirds teammate Lauren Frew ready on the transverse line.
Reacting rapidly, Frew caught her proper leg out and stopped the ball together with her foot earlier than getting low to select it up. Earlier than she might do something with it although, Watson – attempting to proper the wrongs of her dangerous go that led to the turnover – snatched possession proper out of Frew’s arms.
With all of the Thunderbirds bar purpose keeper Shamera Sterling already beginning to push ahead, Watson and the Lightning attackers then just about had a free trip to the put up to attain their forty ninth purpose and stage up the rating.
With out that second, there’s doubt the sport would have headed into extra-time, however whether or not it was recreation defining is one other query.
Because the lead commentator on the Fox Netball broadcast, former Diamonds shooter Cath Cox mentioned: “I can not consider something I’ve ever seen as blatant as that go unnoticed and uncalled.”
Cox then doubled down on her criticism on the community’s present Pivot a day later, including: “I am all for being bodily, however dishonest, I am completely 100 per cent in opposition to. That was [cheating] in my view, it was a grimy transfer.”
The remark feels harsh and excessive, as that second felt extra prefer it was about umpire error or a scarcity of intervention from the officers than it did about Watson’s conduct.
Positive, Watson in all probability should not have batted it out of Frew’s arms, however talking after the match, the midcourter mentioned she had thought it was Lightning’s ball honest and sq., as you are not allowed to kick the ball in netball, and each Wilson and Frew had acquired a foot to it.
“Simply play on, yeah, I assumed they kicked the ball, so I simply picked it up and performed it,” Watson mentioned.
Even when the umpire had judged the foot contact by the Thunderbirds to be effective, they in all probability ought to have been awarded a penalty after Watson pinched the ball out of Frew’s arms.
Housby will get slim win in a centesimal recreation
It is not usually gamers get to expertise glory of their milestone matches and for a lot of Sunday’s contest between the Firebirds and Swifts, it regarded as if Housby too would miss out on her large day.
In an actual grind, the house facet in Brisbane had a slight edge within the first three quarters, however one thing Swifts coach Briony Akle mentioned at half-time clicked into gear within the fourth quarter and all of the sudden her crew had been those with momentum.
Working onerous in defence, the facet transformed their turnovers with two-point tremendous pictures to undo all of the Firebirds’ onerous work.
With just below two minutes left in common time and the Swifts behind by one, the crew in purple needed to assume rapidly.
In the end, they tried to repeat the Swifts’ well-known possession-style play, going backwards and forwards of their purpose third to try to wind down the clock. That plan got here unstuck after they mucked round with it an excessive amount of as a substitute of simply seeking to put up.
What ought to have occurred is for them to go it round a bit, then both give it to Donnell Wallam to fit a straightforward purpose underneath the put up to maintain the rating ticking over or to offer the ball to Tippah Dwan within the tremendous shot arc to place the sport out of attain.
As a substitute, the Firebirds continued with that dangerous fashion of play for longer than they need to have, heading out and in of the circle unnecessarily, and going again to the transverse line one too many occasions, earlier than spilling the ball over the facet of the courtroom.
Consequently, the Swifts acquired the throw-in, transformed and despatched us into further time for the second time in two days. From then on, the Firebirds already regarded defeated, taking part in with their heads down, understanding they need to by no means have let the sport get into this place.
Housby was one of many gamers that actually stood up within the second-half to assist the Swifts carry.
Her accuracy dropped as little as 67 per cent within the second quarter, however by the top of the match she was again up at an total 90 per cent accuracy. Her work charge on the centre go additionally improved.
“That felt fairly particular, it is positively not a match I’ll neglect,” Housby mentioned.
“I feel we made it fairly onerous for ourselves however that spirit and that struggle in all probability sums up what I consider the Swifts are about and it is an honour to get 100 caps for this membership.”
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