ROUND 8 of Suncorp Super Netball saw some phenomenal matchups across every games and some highly talented players take the court. The condensed fixture and introduction of rolling subs this year have seen plenty of young names already jump on the court and have a huge impact despite their lack of experience. We take a look at each game and note which players shifted the gears and switched up the momentum.

Melbourne Vixens (63) defeated NSW Swifts (60)

Unable to be split early, the decision to bring on Kadie-Ann Dehaney proved to be the answer to the Vixens struggles in defence with the goal keeper taking it up to Sam Wallace. The NSW Swifts goal shooter seemed to have the ball on a string but the injection of Dehaney brought a different dynamic, renowned for her aerial strength. She nullified the influence of Wallace to the post with the goaler only managing eight goals for the term while Dehaney racked up the stats with two gains and deflections. Increased defensive efforts from Jo Weston and Kate Eddy out the front also started to swing things in favour of the Vixens as they combined to pick up an intercept and couple of deflections to halt the Swifts in attack. Weston and Eddy managed to force Helen Housby, Sophie Garbin, Natalie Haythornthwaite and Maddy Proud to all rotate through their respective positions such was the Vixens’ dominance.

Collingwood Magpies (54) defeated by GIANTS Netball (69)

GIANTS captain Jo Harten single-handedly changed the course of the game with the goal shooter knocking back four consecutive super shots to cut the margin to a goal at half time. Struggling to find her range early, the shake-up of Caitlin Bassett to the bench and the combination of Harten and Kiera Austin started to have an influence especially in the final five minutes of the quarter. The duo worked seamlessly together, able to sight the post effectively and most importantly convert with Harten proving to have a hot hand from perimeter edge. Defensively Collingwood seemed to have no answers with Geva Mentor, Jodi-Ann Ward and Matilda Garrett unable to quell the influence of Harten who looked composed with ball in hand and confident to post. The impressive shooting display from Harten gave the GIANTS the boost they were after as they kept that momentum going into the second half to run rampant.

Queensland Firebirds (54) defeated Adelaide Thunderbirds (53)

With a two goal lead in favour of the Thunderbirds and the game on the line it was Kim Jenner who delivered, as the Firebirds goal defence picked up arguably one of her most important possessions in the game. Tracking the ball in the air, Jenner read the play exceptionally well into the pocket to steal possession for her side and move the ball cautiously out of defence. She was not done yet however, picking up a handy tip on the next centre pass thanks to her three foot marking as captain Gabi Simpson backed her up to pick up the scraps and send the ball streaming back down the court. The increased defensive pressure filtered across the Firebirds unit as they worked in overdrive to win ball back and hit the scoreboard.

West Coast Fever (80) defeated Sunshine Coast Lightning (56)

Already holding a handy lead, a phenomenal second term ultimately put the nail in the coffin for the Lightning as the Fever went on a tear, scoring 24 goals to eight. Shooting at 100 per cent both Jhaniele Fowler and Alice Teague-Neeld could not be denied under the post with Fowler doing majority of the heavy lifting when it came to scoreboard pressure with a whopping 20 goals for the quarter. Teague-Neeld was influential sinking two super shots while her hot hand on the feed paid dividends for the Fever frontend amassing eight goal assists for the term. The Lightning simply had no answers for the shooting duo with Phumza Maweni, Annika Lee-Jones and Karla Pretorius all rendered ineffective. Both Ingrid Colyer and Verity Charles lifted their intensity in the second quarter with the two carving up the attacking third with their dynamic movement, strong cut and drives and impressive vision into the circle to cut the Sunshine Coast defenders out of the equation.