ROUND 5 of the Suncorp Super Netball 2021 season saw the Melbourne Vixens get their first win, alongside victories from Sunshine Coast Lightning, NSW Swifts and West Coast Fever. Over the ditch, Southern Steel, Central Pulse and the Northern Stars were the winners in Round 7 of the ANZ Premiership. We take a look at some of the standout performances and highest stats from the week.

Goals:

Fever’s Jhaniele Fowler again leads the stats this week in the goal end, only missing one of her 56 shots to maintain a 98.2 percent shooting average. Swifts goal shooter Sam Wallace was not far behind her, sinking 46 goals from 48 shots to keep her average at 95.8 percent for the round. Despite going down to the Vixens by two goals after the siren, Romelda Aiken shot 41 of the Firebirds’ 64 total goals, while also gaining six rebounds, the most of any shooter in Round 5. Magpie Shimona Nelson also sunk 41 goals, while Thunderbirds shooter Lenize Potgieter only missed one of her 34 attempts, maintaining a shooting average of 97.1 percent for Round 5. Rahni Samason impressed in her maiden SSN appearance, putting up eight super shots including the winning score.

Mystics goal shooter Grace Nweke continues to dominate in the ring, sinking 52 goals from 61 attempts in Round 7, as well a gaining nine rebounds. Tactix’s Ellie Bird was the most accurate this week, maintaining a 91.8 percent shooting average with only four missed shots from her 49 attempts. George Fisher and Caitlin Bassett were also among the top performers this week, both shooting 47 goals each, while Bassett also collected five rebounds for WBOP Magic.

Midcourt:

Despite going down to the Swifts, Magpies midcourter Ash Brazill was a standout, with four gains, four intercepts and five deflections. Her opponent, Paige Hadley, also worked hard for the Swifts, with 25 goal assists, one gain and one intercept. Thunderbirds’ wing attack Maisie Nankivell was again dominant on the court in Round 5, with two gains, two intercepts, and 25 goal assist from 42 feeds into the ring. Verity Charles was her reliable self for Fever, with 22 goal assists, 39 feeds and a deflection, while Lightning’s Kate Shimmin, despite only being on court for half the game, collected two gains, two intercepts and one deflection in wing defence.

Wing attack Gina Crampton was a standout for the Stars, contributing to their win with 26 goal assists from 39 feeds. On the opposing team, Steel’s Shannon Saunders collected 24 goal assists for the round. Samon Nathan was dominant in the Tactix attack, racking up 24 goal assists, as well as two gains, two deflections and an intercept. The Mystics’ Elisapeta Toeava also managed 24 goal assists, while Steel wing defence Kate Heffernan got two gains, three deflections and an intercept.

Defence:

Round 5 showcased some of the best defence the SSN has seen this season. Sarah Klau was an absolute standout for the Swifts, with nine gains, six intercepts, and seven deflections. At the opposite end of the court, Magpie Geva Mentor kept sending them back to Klau, with seven gains, four intercepts and five deflections. Kadie-Ann Dehaney played a crucial role in the Vixens’ first win of the season, with seven gains, three intercepts and four deflections, while Tara Hinchliffe did her best to keep the Vixens attack at bay, with six gains, four intercepts and four deflections. Thunderbirds’ Shamera Sterling showed off her impressive defensive skills, collecting seven gains, four intercepts and a massive 11 deflections, while Lightning’s Phumza Maweni managed six gains, six intercepts and three deflections.

Pulse’s defensive duo of Kelera Nawai and Kelly Jury were unstoppable in Round 7, with Nawai collecting seven gains, three intercepts and six deflections, while Jury managed five gains, three intercepts and five deflections. Sulu Fitzpatrick worked hard for the Mystics, racking up seven gains, two intercepts and eight deflections. Tactix’s Karin Burger also got seven gains, as well as three intercepts and five deflections, with the Star’s goal defence Elle Temu collected five gains, four intercepts and six deflections in their in over the Tactix.

Picture credit: AAP Image/Richard Wainwright