Compare the Pair: Jade Clarke and Laura Malcolm

Manchester Thunder April 21, 2020

Pic: Sky Sports

THE next instalment in the Draft Central Compare the Pair series will aim to analyse two fan favourites from across the netball world, with the next showcasing England Roses midcourters, Jade Clarke and Laura Malcolm. Clarke and Malcolm have a similar build and height, making them both that perfect shut-down midcourt defender who can rotate forward when required to body up and provide that defensive pressure. With clean hands and plenty of winning experience, the two midcourters form a handy combination on court with endurance, speed and consistency credit to their respective work ethics. Their respective intensity and constant pressure on their opposition allows both Clarke and Malcolm to dominate when given their time on court. They both provide key cogs for their respective Vitality Netball Superleague teams in Wasps Netball and Manchester Thunder, taking the court against the other in the 2019 VNSL grand final. The most capped England netballer in Clarke is one of the most influential midcourters the Roses have seen, with an ability to make something out of nothing nine times out of 10. With a defensive approach on the court, Clarke uses her speed off the mark to find loose ball and force turnovers with her hands-over pressure. She is a constant threat whether she is in wing defence or centre, and uses her experience to shut down her opposition cleanly thanks to her no-nonsense approach to the game. Her ability to block the vision on circle edge and cut off her opposition’s drive is credit to her awareness, always two passes ahead of the ball, ready to cut off the attacking options and deny easy ball into the circle. Her defensive approach to centre shows her versatility, able to outrun her opposition to get pride of place on circle edge. Malcolm is a real shut-down player in the way she uses her bodywork to block the drive and stop any ease of access to her opposition. But while she is a quality defensive minded player, it is her conversion to an attacking mindset that really makes her one to watch, able to be a threat on circle edge in both centre and wing attack, forming a crucial and versatile option through the centre third and around the goal circle. Her cleanliness with ball in hand allows her to be a threat when on song, able to propel the ball out of defence while her footwork to get around her opposition cleanly proves her class on the court. While Malcolm has not had the greatest opportunity to prove herself on the international stage with Clarke holding down the starting spot among other key midcourters, her value on the bench sees her as a crucial player to rotate on wherever required through the middle third, with plenty of commitment on her drive to take a timely intercept or deflect the oncoming pass. Jade Clarke 176 caps, 2002-present Laura Malcolm 28 caps, 2012-present —

Which England Roses fan favourite would you take?

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ANZ Premiership ladder

Pos	Team	P	W	L	GF	GD	ST	L5	Pts	GA+/-	VNSL Pts	ANZ Pts
1	Mystics	14	10	4	869	43	W2	0-4-1	40	1.05	30	30
2	Tactix	15	10	5	799	34	L1	0-4-1	40	1.04	30	30
3	Steel	14	9	5	762	9	L1	0-3-2	36	1.01	27	27
4	Stars	13	8	5	723	34	W1	0-2-3	32	1.05	24	24
5	Pulse	13	4	9	685	-8	L1	0-1-4	16	0.99	12	12

View full table

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