IT was a one-sided affair at Ken Rosewall Arena as GIANTS Netball made light work of Adelaide Thunderbirds to win comfortably, 57-41. The GIANTS snapped their three-game losing streak with a convincing performance from the get-go while the Thunderbirds simply could not generate any momentum.

After struggling in the past couple of weeks, England international Jo Harten came out with a real pep in her step landing the first goal of the game. She was up and about with her confidence quickly rubbing off onto youngster Sophie Dwyer alongside her in the goal circle. But Shamera Sterling was not about to be outdone with the Jamaican goal keeper streaming out of the goal circle to snatch up an intercept and send the ball down the court. However, the Thunderbirds’ inability to capitalise on their opportunities allowed the GIANTS to make them pay, and within the blink of an eye the GIANTS were up by three goals with April Brandley having an absolute field day down in defence covering Georgie Horjus’ every move to pick up a copious amount of turnover ball. It was an all-round defensive presence from the GIANTS as Amy Parmenter used her closing speed to get hands to ball and cleanly contest across the court.

Lenize Potgieter received a wealth of attention from Sam Poolman as the two engaged in an incredibly physical battle with limited space inside the circle making life hard for the Thunderbirds front-end. The GIANTS were not afraid to reset and throw the ball around to inch their way closer to circle edge but Harten provided that steady head to pop out at the right time and deliver the goods. The home side doubled the visitors’ score holding a four-goal lead as the GIANTS continued to put their foot down, mainly off the back of Brandley’s efforts. Down by six goals, a Thunderbirds timeout allowed them to take a breather as they ate back into the margin with Sam Gooden injected into the game. Harten was proving to be a maestro in attack while Brandley was on fire down in defence as the Thunderbirds went four minutes without a goal.

It took a while for both sides to settle into the second term before the Thunderbirds piled on back-to-back goals as Horjus and Potgieter shared the load. Jamie-Lee Price was running along smoothly for the GIANTS with her drive to the top of the circle, as a couple of errant passes allowed the Thunderbirds to latch onto the crumbs but that momentum was short lived as the GIANTS hit back once again. Latanya Wilson came on in wing defence, replacing Shadine van der Merwe but that did not seem to faze the GIANTS too much as they continued along their merry way. Maisie Nankivell gave away a costly offensive penalty as the GIANTS capitalised on their chances extending the lead to seven goals.

Kristiana Manu’a entered the fray in goal keeper for the GIANTS and with the super shot in play the changes came hard and fast as Nankivell switched into centre and Elle McDonald pulled on the wing attack bib. Out to a nine-goal margin, the GIANTS were happy to just plug away at the scoreboard while the Thunderbirds went with the high risk, high reward motto attempting a wealth of super shots but simply were unable to convert. It was party tricks galore for the GIANTS in attack taking the half-time lead out to 12 goals.

The smooth transition down the court from the GIANTS was impressive as Maddie Hay continued to thread the needle and just go about her business. Dwyer and Harten were combining seamlessly with Matilda Garrett unable to have her usual impact down back giving away a wealth of penalties. Things were not going the Thunderbirds way at all with an offensive contact called against Potgieter and the GIANTS capitalising to extend out a 14-goal lead. The ball swung up and down the court through the mid-section of the third term but it was the GIANTS that held momentum as the Thunderbirds’ sloppiness cost them, especially on the penalty front.

The GIANTS had the ball on a string and while Adelaide had moments of magic they simply could not maintain that level of intensity throughout the term. Dwyer was carving up the attack with her hot hand causing all sorts of havoc for Garrett, while Manu’a gave GIANTS fans plenty to cheer about with a huge rejection on Potgieter’s shot as the Thunderbirds looked laboured in attack. With Nankivell racking up the penalties, Hannah Petty re-emerged in centre in hope to settle the frontend but it was to no avail.

The game was all but won and done at three quarter time but the GIANTS were not finished yet as their blistering transition down court bypassed the Thunderbirds defence. Gooden was bought on in goal shooter but she struggled to find her rhythm with a number of missed shots, while Parmenter had a real spring in her step around circle edge as the lead ballooned out 17 goals. With a couple of minutes left on the clock youngster Matisse Letherbarrow got some valuable court time showcasing her class to go from range nailing two super shots, including one after the siren, to claim a 16-goal win.

Harten was back to her dominant ways sinking 26 goals from 34 attempts while Dwyer was slightly more accurate converting at 80 per cent with 24 from 30. Hay was a real workhorse with her 17 goal assists as Price registered 13. But it was the defensive work from Brandley that stood out with the goal defence amassing four intercepts, six deflections and two rebounds. Potgieter led the way with 24 goals at 80 per cent for the Thunderbirds as Horjus contributed a handy 13 goals, while Nankivell racked up 11 goal assists and Sterling was imposing in defence with her three intercepts and seven deflections.

GIANTS NETBALL 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 (57)
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 (41)

GIANTS:

GS: Jo Harten
GA: Sophie Dwyer
WA: Maddie Hay
C: Jamie-Lee Price
WD: Amy Parmenter
GD: April Brandley
GK: Sam Poolman

Thunderbirds:

GS: Lenize Potgieter
GA: Georgie Horjus
WA: Maisie Nankivell
C: Hannah Petty
WD: Shadine van der Merwe
GD: Matilda Garrett
GK: Shamera Sterling

Photo credit: SSN Twitter