OUR new Draft Central Team of the Week series continues, composing two teams with one side each hailing from the Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) and the other from the ANZ Premiership.

ANZ Premiership:

GS: George Fisher (Southern Steel)
GA: Khiarna Williams (Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic)
WA: Gina Crampton (Northern Stars)
C: Mila Reuelu-Buchanan (Northern Stars)
WD: Fa’amu Ioane (Northern Mystics)
GD: Kelly Jury (Central Pulse)
GK: Elle Temu (Northern Stars)

BENCH: Maia Wilson (Northern Stars), Peta Toeava (Northern Mystics), Temalisi Fakahokotau (Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic)

George Fisher continues to get better with each and every game and this contest was no different. The goal shooter stood tall inside the circle with her commanding nature enabling her to dictate the play and pile on the scoreboard pressure at a high accuracy to finish with 48 goals at 92 per cent. Youngster, Khiarna Williams put in a dominant performance in goal attack credit to her innate timing and slick hands to slice through the opposition defence time and time again. Her leap and baseline drive were main features of her game, making her an easy selection given her 20 goals at 95 per cent.

Continuing to relish her time in new colours, Gina Crampton starred for the Northern Stars with her give and go around circle edge. She seemed to have the ball on a string able to setup the play with her change of pace and precision passing doing all the talking. Joining her through the midcourt is Northern Stars teammate Mila Reuelu-Buchanan. The centre showcased her timing and high workrate to thread the needle in attack, running away with 20 goal assists while also plying her trade in defence with her three-foot marking. The wing defence bib falls to Fa’amu Ioane with the Northern Mystics midcourter letting her fancy footwork do all the talking causing trouble with her aerial presence and closing speed as she racked up four deflections and four pickups.

Playing out of position, Kelly Jury impressed for the Central Pulse using her long limbs to swat balls away and implement a strong three-foot guard. Not the quickest player out on court, it was her ability to cherry pick passes and mount pressure inside the circle that saw her earn a spot in the starting seven. It was a convincing performance from Elle Temu down in defence with the goal keeper controlling the airwaves and using her fancy footwork to dictate the space. With a strong aerial presence and clever body positioning at her disposal, Temu had a field day down back picking up three intercepts and seven gains.

Off the bench, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic defender Temalisi Fakahokotau was in just about everything, contesting hard in her outing against the Stars and using her deceptive closing speed to reel in the intercepts. Peta Toeava was her damaging best with ball in hand while the final bench position went to Maia Wilson with the Stars captain flexing her muscles under the post with her 42 goals.

VNSL

GS: Donnell Wallam (Leeds Rhinos)
GA: Paige Reed (Severn Stars)
WA: Caroline O’Hanlon (Manchester Thunder)
C: Serena Guthrie (Team Bath)
WD: Beth Cobden (Loughborough Lightning)
GD: Layla Guscoth (Team Bath)
GK: Tuaine Keenan (Leeds Rhinos)

BENCH: Rebekah Robinson (Celtic Dragons), Amy Flanagan (Wasps Netball), Vicki Oyesola (Leeds Rhinos)

It was once again hard to go past Leeds Rhinos goaler Donnell Wallam who proved to have a hot hand under the post. Her ability to hold the space and withstand the physicality was paramount as she slotted a whopping 62 goals in her first outing and kept up the pace in her second game of the round. Out in goal attack is Paige Reed who made her presence well and truly felt in her sole outing for the round for the Severn Stars. Her capacity to read the play and slot into the right position was evident as was her range and accuracy nailing 24 goals from 28 attempts.

The experience of Caroline O’Hanlon was on full show as the midcourter plied her trade out in wing attack to weave her magic and hit circle edge for Manchester Thunder. Her impressive timing and precision on the pass enabled her to sight the goaler with ease and most importantly got her hands dirty in defence with three deflections and two intercepts. Serena Guthrie was up to her usual tricks throughout Round 13/14  plying her trade and helping her side get over the line on both occasions. Her ability to read the play and get busy both in offence and defence was crucial and earned her the nod as starting centre. Joining her through the centre is ever-reliable Loughborough Lightning midcourter, Beth Cobden. The wing defence effectively plied her trade through the centre and backline to pressure her opponent and come up big herself with a couple of handy intercepts and deflections to act as a real wall in defence.

Layla Guscoth once again put up a strong effort out in goal defence for Team Bath with her unassuming nature allowing her to win ball back and create attacking opportunities for her side. Guscoth’s read of the play was imperative, as was her footwork, enabling her to cleanly contest passes and earning her the starting position. Back in goal keeper is Leeds Rhinos defender Tuaine Keenan who impressed credit to her hands over pressure, deceptive closing speed to slot into damaging positions and all-round hustle to rack up the intercepts and deflections across both her two appearances.

Amy Flanagan was a pillar of consistency through the centre for the Wasps picking up five intercepts and five deflections while Vicki Oyesola was a ball winning machine for the Rhinos in both her clashes. Winning their first game for the season saw Celtic Dragons secure their first player in the Team of the Week for the season, with Rebekah Robinson impressing under the post with her accuracy and athleticism.

Who would win?

Both sides have a good mix of youth and experience however it is fair to say that the defensive end in the ANZ Premiership side holds the upper hand. Boasting the likes of Jury out in goal defence and up and coming youngster Temu, the side has plenty of X-factor. They also show great depth on the bench with Wilson a commanding presence and unlucky not to get the nod in the starting position. Conversely, the VNSL side do not have the same level of depth in the shooting circle, however would match the midcourt for skill and classy.