IN the next edition of our new series, Draft Central will compose two Teams of the Week with one side each hailing from the Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) and the other from the ANZ Premiership.

ANZ Premiership:

GS: Ellie Bird (Mainland Tactix)
GA: Jamie Hume (Northern Stars)
WA: Peta Toeava (Northern Mystics)
C: Kimiora Poi (Mainland Tactix)
WD: Maddy Gordon (Central Pulse)
GD: Elle Temu (Northern Stars)
GK: Jane Watson (Mainland Tactix)

BENCH: Grace Nweke (Northern Mystics), Gina Crampton (Northern Stars), Sulu Fitzpatrick (Northern Mystics)

Only missing one goal for the entire match it was hard to ignore Mainland Tactix goal shooter, Ellie Bird who was a lynchpin in attack. With twinkle toes along the goal-line and impressive balance and strength, Bird withstood a constant barrage of physicality to earn the starting position goal shooter credit to her 54 goals from 55 attempts. Northern Stars goal attack, Jamie Hume had a breakout game in her 100th match, sinking goals from here, there and everywhere to lead the way as shown through her 21 goals and while she was not the most accurate her workrate and decision-making made all the difference.

There is speed to burn through the midcourt as Peta Toeava gets the nod in at wing attack. The Mystics midcourter is a lynchpin in attack with her sure-fire passes, dynamic movement and confidence to consistently deliver no-look passes. Toeava is in a league of her own with her footspeed and release on the pass always favouring her intended target as she racked up 32 goal assists. Kimiora Poi earns the centre bib after a strong performance on Sunday with the talented midcourter putting in the hard yards to feed the ball into the circle while also plying her trade in defence to make life hard for the opposition. Speedster Maddy Gordon rounds out the final midcourt position with the wing defence impressing with her speed off the mark, tenacity, aerial ability and endurance. She was involved in just about every contest and applied strong hands over pressure to try and win ball back.

Moving into the defensive third and Elle Temu is back for her second week in a row, this time in a different position out in goal defence. Temu enjoyed the extra space to roam freely, covering the court with relative ease and picking up her fair share of ball to finish with seven gains, three intercepts and three rebounds. Joining her is Jane Watson, with the Mainland Tactix captain a key reason for her side’s win as she plied her trade and put in the hard yards. Watson showcased her niggling style of defence to out-manoeuvre her opponent and win back a wealth of ball, finishing with six deflections and two gains.

The bench is also littered with talent with Mystics captain and general, Sulu Fitzpatrick unlucky not to get the start with her workrate and netball IQ unquestionable. Another day, another dominate performance from shooting prodigy Grace Nweke who was just pipped at the post when it comes to earning the starting goal shooter position. She used her athleticism and aerial presence to inflict a wealth of scoreboard pain finishing with 51 goals at 93 per cent. The final spot goes to Northern Stars’ midcourter Gina Crampton who seemed to have the ball on a string with her 24 goal assists and 26 centre pass receives.

VNSL:

GS: Kim Borger (Team Bath)
GA: Eleanor Cardwell (Manchester Thunder)
WA: Iona Christian (Wasps Netball)
C: Serena Guthrie (Team Bath)
WD: Rebekah Airey (Manchester Thunder)
GD: Layla Guscoth (Team Bath)
GK: Towera Vinkhumbo (Strathclyde Sirens)

BENCH: Mary Cholhok (Loughborough Lightning), Laura Malcolm (Manchester Thunder), Fran Williams (Wasps Netball)

Team Bath dominated in multiple facets of the game and the goal circle was one of them as goal shooter, Kim Borger showcased her class, silky movement and accuracy to post to earn a spot in the starting seven. Borger is a cool, calm and collected customer able to use her body positioning to hold off defenders and slot 43 goals at 93 per cent. Alongside her in the circle is Eleanor Cardwell with the explosive goal attack able to keep the scoreboard ticking over with her range and accuracy. Cardwell nailed 17 goals from 21 attempts in a strong showing for the Thunder.

Holding down the wing attack position is Wasps player of the match, Iona Christian who is building some strong form with her classy feeds into the circle and vision to deliver precision passes. She also flexed her defensive mindset with a couple of deflections in an all-round strong performance. There are not enough superlatives for Serena Guthrie as the centre only gets better with age, using her change in direction, closing speed and defensive mindset to cherry-pick passes. Her nous to flick between attack and defence is second to none, once again earning herself a nod in the Team of the Week. Rebekah Airey found her groove out in wing defence for Manchester Thunder employing her strong hands over pressure to cause chaos and win ball back for her side time and time again.

Defensively speaking, Layla Guscoth had a game to remember with the Team Bath defender impressing with her ball tracking capabilities and hands over pressure to pick up two intercepts and six deflections. she was never out of the contest, constantly repositioning to get hands to ball and upset the flow for the opposition. Towera Vinkhumbo will pull on the goal keeper bib given the Strathclyde Sirens defender reeled in a wealth of ball in her sole outing for the round. Although she received a bit of attention from the umpire Vinkhumbo still starred recording four intercepts and two rebounds.

Looking to the bench and Mary Cholhok has earned a spot with her consistency to post and high volume of shots seeing her lead Loughborough Lightning to win both games. Laura Malcolm impressed with her work through the midcourt while Fran Williams inflicted a wealth of pain down in defence with her ball-winning capability on display.