ROUND 11 of Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) saw the competition take a trip across the border to South Australia as Victoria headed back into lockdown, with rescheduled matches and team lists impacted long the way. In this series, Draft Central will look at five key learnings from the round whether it be consistent themes or standout performances.

The SSN is more than equipped to handle last-minute changes

Netball Australia pulled all the strings it was capable of last week to keep the 2021 season alive, and while the situation may still not be ideal, with four of the eight teams – NSW Swifts, GIANTS Netball, Melbourne Vixens and Collingwood Magpies – forced to relocate once more to keep the season alive, it is a result that everyone is grateful for purely because of the quick thinking and actions surrounding it. With a new CEO in Kelly Ryan at the helm ensuring transparency across fans and the media, as well as things clicking into place prior to Victoria’s late lockdown announcement last Thursday afternoon, Netball Australia proved it has the capacity to pull the trigger and make those hard decisions to ensure the season can be finished. With fresh restrictions across the nation and players like Tippah Dwan impacted, forced to go into 14-day quarantine, it is safe to say there are still more decisions to be made and jobs to be done, especially now that Adelaide has been confirmed to go into lockdown from tonight onwards.

What if the season has to be condensed once more?

It is safe to say that the season has ben dealt its fair share of fallbacks this season, starting out nation-wide, before heading to Queensland, Victoria, and now south Australia, will all three states suffering lockdowns of some sort. With the latest move – to Adelaide, where they have now announced further restrictions – the question has been posed about whether the remainder of the season should be condensed to ensure the season is complete and that players left in limbo can head home as soon as possible. Something we learnt last year was that players are certainly up to the tough task, however it took extra hands on deck, namely an extra two players on the bench, to do so. If there is anything we have learnt this season, it is that younger, developing players are more than capable of stepping up – think Sophie Dwyer and Rahni Samason – with depth appearing to be no issue for some sides, for example Lightning, with Peace Proscovia and Kate Shimmin on the bench with both capable of holding down a starting position, and Firebirds’ Rudi Ellis who played out her first full SSN game on Monday and was hard to stop when she got going. While it would not necessarily be ideal to condense the season once more, it may be the best possible decision at this point in time with so many changes still happening around the country.

Weekend of SSN derbies provides the goods

Four huge matches played out across a rescheduled round of action with Victorian and NSW derbies played back-to-back on Saturday with four-goal deficits apiece, and the Queensland derby playing out on Monday night in the sunshine state. While the South Australian-West Australian rivalry did not play out quite as tightly as hoped after a huge first quarter from Shamera Sterling, and the Queensland Battle of the Bruce saw injuries mount up – both prior to and during the match – there was plenty to take out of the action-packed round. The ladder was shaken up once more, with the Firebirds keeping their finals hopes alive and the GIANTS earning a critical win to take top spot of the ladder once more. Percentage is sure to play a vital role once finals come around with GIANTS and Swifts going toe-to-toe, and if the Firebirds can rack up a couple more wins they could claim a big scalp of the Lightning who have a lower percentage. It is safe to say that Round 11 was a huge one in terms of the final finish, with everything on the line heading into the final stretch.

Who is Australia’s leading goal defence right now?

Defensively, the Suncorp Super Netball is no slouch when it comes to producing stellar defenders with international and domestic players alike sharing the spotlight. But all that is to say, who would be the Diamonds’ starting goal defence? Starting with the current starter in Jo Weston, it is clear the Vixens’ lack of success this season is not because of the side’s defensive issues, but rather their offensive prowess. But at the same time, Weston certainly has not been at her most potent this season, likely down to a lot of positional switches around her, and ultimately opening up chances for other Australian defenders to get a look in at that starting goal defence position. If April Brandley were to put her hand up for selection, it is safe to say the former Diamond has been one of the most reliable and impactful defenders this season with a renewed confidence and willingness to contest. Sunday Aryang would also be a viable option, now earning the starting goal defence bib at Fever almost every round, but could perhaps be pegged as too inexperienced, while Kim Jenner has been nowhere near her typical ball-hunting self this season, but was part of the Diamonds’ extended bench during the Constellation Cup earlier this year. Further on the outer would be Maddy Turner – who is definitely in better form than last season but not quite at her peak 2019 form – and Matilda Garrett, who had a stellar start to the season but appears to have fatigued as the season has gone on. Two clubs in Magpies (Jodi-Ann Ward) and Lightning (Karla Pretorius) have international starters in goal defence.

Steph Wood is key to Lightning success

It is safe to say that when Steph Wood is not on, both physically and mentally, the Lightning struggle to win games. With a couple of knee niggles over the past year or so keeping Wood from performing at her best, the goal attack has been creating a starring role out the front for the Lightning this season with her workhorse attitude and renewed winning mentality. With fresh confidence to go to post and an excellent combination with Koenen, Wood’s form is a huge part of the Lightning’s success and potent front-end, but whether she is taken out of the game by a rogue knock – like during the Queensland derby on Monday night, only taking the court for 11 minutes – or taken out mentally by a zoning defender such as Weston, the Lightning’s confidence and winning attitude seems to fade entirely. Realistically, it is not ideal for so much of the success of the team to be focused on one player, with so much heat directed on Wood’s shoulders as a goaler already, however there is no denying that when Wood steps up and takes control, the entire team rallies and looks the better for it. In the case of this round, the loss of Wood certainly took the wind out of the sails, and even though they still kept close to the Firebirds throughout the contest, struggled to generate that momentum in the final quarter with both Wood and Laura Scherian on the sidelines.

Picture credit: Jono Searle/Getty Images