IT was an interesting week in both the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) and ANZ Premiership, with some unexpected results and great matches to watch. Round 7 of the SSN saw the Adelaide Thunderbirds come out on top of the NSW Swifts, while across the ditch in the ANZ Premiership the Mainland Tactix were almost able to overcome the Southern Steel. We take a look at some of the standout performances and highest stats from the week.

GOALS:

Grace Nweke again topped the goalers leaderboard in Round 9 of the ANZ Premiership, shooting her 57 goals for the Northern Mystics at 93 percent accuracy. Southern Steel’s George Fisher was next in line, only missing four of her 44 attempts at goal in the side’s win over the Tactix, maintaining her accuracy at 91 percent. Central Pulse shooter Aliyah Dunn was able to sink 39 goals during her 60 minutes on court, but was not able to overcome the Northern Stars, with Maia Wilson and Jamie Hume combining well to put up 37 and 18 goals respectively.

Jhaniele Fowler continues to showcase her dominance in the ring during Round 7 of the SSN, sinking a massive 62 of her 64 attempts at 97 percent. Magpies goal shooter Shimona Nelson was just behind her with 55 goals in their win over Vixens, also picking up six rebounds along the way. She was helped out the front by Gabby Sinclair, who didn’t put up a lot of shots, but racked up 25 goal assists from 34 feeds, as did super-sub Peace Proscovia, who shot at 100 per cent for the Lightning in the final quarter. The most accurate of the round was Thunderbirds shooter Lenize Potgieter, only missing one of her 41 attempts at goal to keep her accuracy at close to 98 percent. The two shots that let Romelda Aiken down were Super Shot attempts, with the goaler scoring all 40 of her single-point attempts through the net.

MIDCOURT:

Peta Toeava was an essential part of the Mystics win, with the wing attack collecting 38 goal assists from a massive 52 feeds, as well as a gain and an intercept. Stars’ Gina Crampton was hot on her heels, with 30 goal assists from her 47 feeds into the ring. Kimiora Poi was dominant in the Tactix centre court, making Steel really earn their win using her defensive skills to gain an intercept, five deflections and three gains. Her opponent in Kate Heffernan held her ground though, with two gains, two intercepts and four deflections of her own.

GIANTS wing defence Amy Parmenter was an absolute standout of the round, racking up 94.5 Nissan Net Points with her eight gains, six intercepts, eight deflections, and even a feed into the ring. Mahalia Cassidy also impressed for the Lightning, with five gains and four intercepts. Verity Charles continued to display her amazing connection with Fowler despite changing things up a little and playing in wing attack, assisting with 24 goals from her 37 feeds into the ring. In their unexpected win over the Swifts, Thunderbirds midcourters Maisie Nankivell and Hannah Petty worked like a well-oiled machine to get the ball down their end of the court. Playing in wing attack, Nankivell managed 22 goal assists, 33 feeds, and three deflections, while Petty’s defensive pressure scored her two gains and two intercepts.

DEFENCE:

Tactix goal defence Karin Burger was a standout in the defensive end this round, showcasing her impressive skills to collect eight gains, four intercepts, five deflections and two rebounds. Steel defenders Te Huinga Selby-Rickit and Taneisha Fifita were on the top of their game to help their team find the win, with Selby-Rickit managing four gains, four deflections and an intercept, while Fifita collected three gains, six deflections and an intercept. Anna Harrison continues to be reliable with five gains and three intercepts, with Elle Temu also impressed once more with three gains, two intercepts and five deflections despite only being on the court for 40 minutes of the game.

Lightning’s defensive duo of Karla Pretorius and Phumza Maweni were like a brick wall that the GIANTS could not find a way through, between them managing 16 gains, three intercepts, 11 deflections and seven rebounds. Kadie-Ann Dehaney tried her best to keep the Vixens in contention for the win against the Magpies, working hard to collect seven gains, three intercepts, four deflections and two rebounds, but she was fighting a losing battle against Geva Mentor and Jodi-Ann Ward. While both the Magpies defenders had five gains apiece, Mentor also managed two intercepts and five deflections, while Ward racked up three intercepts and a massive 11 deflections. Shamera Sterling has well and truly found her rhythm this season now with her eight gains, six intercepts and deflections during Round 7, while Courtney Bruce also demonstrated why she is one of the top defenders in the world, with 10 gains, four intercepts, nine deflections and four rebounds alone.

Picture credit: AAP