THE first midweek game for Suncorp Super Netball 2020 saw a huge matchup between GIANTS Netball and the West Coast Fever on Tuesday night, with both teams coming in off the back of frustrating losses over the weekend. Fever were once again without captain Courtney Bruce, seeing the GIANTS take advantage of the side’s defensive youth and eventually coming away with a seven-goal victory. GIANTS had never lost three in a row in their history, and despite a shaky start they were always on the hunt to ensure they did not break that record.

Caitlin Bassett fittingly shot the opening goal in her 200th national appearance, with the milestone a testament to her longevity in the sport and proving the GIANTS were looking for her at the post from the get-go. The matchup between Jess Anstiss and Jamie-Lee Price was formidable across the court, as the duo were both hard nosed attackers of the ball, unwilling to lose on the drive. In the circle, Sam Poolman was riding Jhaniele Fowler well, though young guns Sunday Aryang and Olivia Lewis certainly did their job well early at the other end, generating a couple of early turnover against their older competition in Bassett and Jo Harten. 

Alice Teague-Neeld has had a couple good performances over the past few rounds and did not skip a beat to begin this one, using her improved vision to sight Fowler under the post and draw attention away from the Jamaican sharp shooter. The GIANTS’ midcourt defence was impressive, forcing the Fever to take a patient approach in attack, as Teague-Neeld took the first super shot, but it resulted in a miss over the goal line seeing the GIANTS get a chance to even up the ledger with under five minutes remaining on the clock. Aryang did a wealth of work early to limit Harten’s movement, keeping the sharpshooter away from the edge of the circle as the likes of Stacey Francis blocked Kiera Austin’s vision on circle edge and Lewis forced Bassett to ride the goal line. The high-scoring yet even start saw neither side sink a super shot in the first, while the Fever turned over a late ball to edge out to a three-goal lead at the first break.

The second quarter saw the Fever start strong once more, as Fowler sank the opening goal and Tilly McDonell headed to the court in goal keeper for Poolman. Harten’s ability to sight the height mismatch inside the circle was influential, which created opportunities for Bassett at the post and Lewis unable to compete despite making close work of it a few times. The GIANTS’ experience continued to pay off inside the circle, and while the Fever still had the ascendancy, the feeds into the circle left something to be desired and both Austin and Price forced ball into a well-guarded Bassett.

Verity Charles and Teague-Neeld’s drive in attack delivered the ball on a silver platter to Fowler though, and while Teague-Neeld was yet to worry the scoreboard, Fowler absorbed the GIANTS’ defensive physicality well to hold ground to post. Kristiana Manu’a might typically be a ball hunter, but played the one-on-one on Teague-Neeld to limit her access to post – it did not do a huge amount though, finding Fowler with ease on the feed. 

Harten put up the first successful super shot of the game to start the last five minutes of the half, as the GIANTS needed a few on the trot to draw back the score to just one goal. A held ball on the Fever saw the GIANTS collect their third goal on the trot – two super shots and one regular goal – before Stacey Marinkovich called the timeout and injected youngster Bridey Condren into goal keeper – against the Australian Diamonds captain on debut, no less. Ingrid Colyer joined the fray in centre as Anstiss left the court following an ill-timed pinky dislocation with less than a minute on the clock, and the momentum swinging the GIANTS way to finish the quarter and turning the tables to hold a four-goal lead at half-time.

Amy Parmenter’s start to the third saw the GIANTS nab the opening goal off the turnover centre, and the young wing defence flew in for the intercept with her hunt paying off to drive back down court. Fowler’s ability to hold ground at the post continued to star, though Anstiss re-entered the court to prove she would not give up, getting hands to a few critical slow balls down the court, relishing being back in her preferred position in wing defence. Meanwhile, Bassett and Harten rarely skipped a beat, extending to a nine-goal lead thanks to a great intercept from Manu’a hunting through the midcourt. The nine goals to three start to the premiership quarter saw the Fever call another timeout with just under 10 minutes on the clock, though a handy defensive pickup at the Fever’s centre pass only put salt in the wound as the GIANTS capitalised and extended their lead once more. 

A huge third intercept to Aryang saw the Fever win back that goal on the GIANTS centre pass, as Fowler and followed through with another to draw back the lead. Aryang’s continued work ethic saw the young gun impress time and time again, working hard on Bassett and getting ever closer to getting a hand on the air ball at the post. The GIANTS continued to control much of the play, denying Fever any fluidity in attack and with an 11-goal lead in hand, the GIANTS looked like they would be hard to take out of the match at this point. A big super shot from Teague-Neeld kept the Fever in the match, with the GIANTS physicality seeing the Fever attackers hit the deck as another few super shots – to Fowler and Harten – further evened the margin, leading to a six-goal margin at three quarter time.

A huge final quarter began as expected, going goal for goal as the two sides entered the term with a fire in the belly. The combination between Austin and Bassett grew as the match went on, as to the former’s pinpoint feeds evaded the hands of Lewis well despite the young gun finding a wealth of ball early. With over eight minutes left on the clock and an eight-goal margin, the Fever were still well and truly in the match, they just needed to treasure possession and make the most of every opportunity they had off the GIANTS’ hands. Colyer’s hunt and work rate was immense in the final term, challenging a tired-looking Parmenter on every ball and using her speed to impact out the front, while the fresh feet of Kaylia Stanton did not necessarily have the desired effect on the scoreboard but certainly helped ball find its way to Fowler.

Both sides wasted a heap of ball in the final quarter, which saw a heap of turnovers but the GIANTS still managed to stay a step ahead as a couple of wayward super shots from the Fever kept the margin extended for much of the term. The GIANTS eventually came away with their first win on the board for 2020, defeating Fever 75-68 in another huge performance. 

Player of the match Harten dominated with 22 goals at 88 per cent (six super shots), while Bassett impressed in her milestone match shooting 47 from 53 and playing all 60 minutes in at goal shooter. Austin racked up a whopping 30 goal assists from 42 feeds, but led the court with nine general play turnovers, while Harten, Price and Manu’a notched three intercepts apiece, credit to the full court defence. Parmenter was consistent as ever posting six gains (four intercepts), while on the Fever side Aryang and Lewis stepped up for four gains apiece, as the duo spent significant court time together for the first time in Bruce’s absence, and they held up strong despite their youth and relative inexperience.

Both Anstiss and Stanton collected two intercepts, while Fowler was outstanding out the front shooting 58 goals at 89 per cent, though her eye was not in on the super shot this round with just one from seven attempts. Teague-Neeld and Charles led the assist tally racking up 22 and 17 respectively, and while Teague-Neeld did her job feeding to Fowler, she did not back up well after the short break posting just two goals to her name from 40 minutes of play.

>>>GIANTS TEAM PAGE

>>>FEVER TEAM PAGE

>>>FULL MATCH STATS

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GIANTS Netball 17 | 22 | 19 | 17 (75)
West Coast Fever 20 | 15 | 17 | 16 (68)

STARTING SEVEN:

GIANTS

GS: Caitlin Bassett
GA: Jo Harten
WA: Kiera Austin
C: Jamie-Lee Price
WD: Amy Parmenter
GD: Kristiana Manu’a
GK: Sam Poolman

Fever

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Alice Teague-Neeld
WA: Verity Charles
C: Jess Anstiss
WD: Stacey Francis
GD: Sunday Aryang
GK: Olivia Lewis