THE 200th Suncorp Super Netball match started and ended with a bang, with the match likely to go down in netball history for more than just its milestone with the first ever player suspension seeing GIANTS Netball go down by one goal (58-57) to Sunshine Coast Lightning after leading for majority of the match. While the final quarter was a thriller, it was soured by the removal of Kristiana Manu’a from the court, seeing plenty of debate among fans and players alike about the umpiring protocols and game management.

With impeccable movement and clean play to start, the two sides were unable to be split in the opening moments with a sharp and patient approach denying any potential for intercepts. Both goal shooters had a great start, finding plenty of ball at the post and fitting given it was Caitlin Bassett at one end and youngster Cara Koenen at the other, with Koenen spending plenty of time learning off the former. What looked like a crucial break for the GIANTS did not pay off, with the Lightning defence in Karla Pretorius and Phumza Maweni turning up the pressure on cue to turn the ball over and win back the resulting goal. However a couple of minor errors won back possession for the GIANTS, with the work ethic from Manu’a and Amy Parmenter eventually breaking the Lightning’s centre pass to go up by two goals with just over eight minutes left in the first quarter.

Despite some early inaccuracy from tall timber Bassett and Jamie-Lee Price briefly removed from the court due to a collision, the GIANTS continued to lead, though the Lightning were unwilling to back off with the connection between Laura Langman and Steph Wood on song and Wood starting fairly well after a couple of slow matches to start the season. With scores level the super shot period began and saw the Lightning the first to take advantage, adding two to their tally thanks to a fantastic Pretorius tip. With Annika Lee-Jones taking the court to play a rebounding role on Harten’s super shot attempts, the Lightning managed to extend a one goal lead to finish off the quarter.

Peace Proscovia started the second quarter in goals alongside Koenen, while for the GIANTS, Price returned to the court and Kiera Austin headed into goal attack to team up with Harten, with the new attack connections for both sides taking some time to gel as both Pretorius and Manu’a scrapped for the loose ball. Laura Scherian had a solid start and continued that form in the second, finding circle edge with ease and critical in the first phase movement. Austin had a blinder to start the quarter and quickly helped the GIANTS take back a three-goal lead, with the seesawing contest causing a Lightning timeout and Pretorius running off the court unexpectedly, seeing Ash Unie out in goal defence and big shoes to fill. Wood returned to the court alaongside Proscovia, but with errors mounting the GIANTS just seemed a lot more in control, as Pretorius returned to the court amid a four-goal GIANTS lead, reducing the margin by a goal.

A couple super shots went remiss as the final five minutes of the term began, as both Wood and Austin backed themselves from range but their risk did not pay off on the scoreboard as Sam Poolman and Maweni getting a good look at the rebound. As the time ticked down to two minutes before half-time, Wood and Austin both managed the super shot to maintain the same three-goal margin, trading blow for blow and neither team really able to take advantage. The battle between Scherian and Parmenter on circle edge saw both players battling it out, not letting up and contesting every ball that came their way, with a final push from the Lightning in attack unable to stick and seeing the GIANTS head into half-time with a one-goal lead.

The second half began with plenty of intensity, with the two teams continuing their second quarter form and going goal for goal to start once more. The return of Koenen into goal shooter paid off with the smooth mover finding and opening up space within the circle, with Harten continued to call the shots out the front as Austin kept up her silky play and the duo continuing to fire on all cylinders. Maddie Hay got the start out in wing attack and built into the game well, showcasing some clever movement in the third to get the ball to Harten under pressure and evading Pretorius’ arms. The entry of Koenen back to the court paid off with her connection with Wood opening up some great opportunities at the post, exploiting space away from Poolman and Manu’a. But the likes of Scherian and Langman were unable to find circle edge with ease, allowing the GIANTS to extend a five-goal lead and a tactical timeout which saw a heap of changes to the Lightning lineup. 

The switch of Langman to wing defence saw Hay under a heap more pressure but the youngster was unshakeable while at the other end Binnian Hunt took to the court in goal attack for Wood, sinking her first super shot and reducing the margin a fraction with jut under five on the clock in the third. A huge contest saw Manu’a removed from the court for two straight minutes, with the goal defence position not allowed to be filled for that period, but fortunately for the GIANTS it did not have a huge impact on the scoreboard with Parmenter’s effort around circle edge allowing Poolman to negate Hunt and force Koenen to put a few single shots up, seeing the Lightning down by eight at the final change.

The Lightning shot true early in the final quarter, seeing the side rack up the first few goals and forcing congestion in the GIANTS circle. Unfortunately for the GIANTS, Manu’a had a second late contest and resulting run-in with the opposing umpire, seeing her sent from the court for the rest of the match with no replacement allowed. With a fire in the belly and a huge Sunshine Coast crowd playing the role of the eighth Lightning player, the GIANTS needed to take every super shot opportunity they had to ensure they finished ahead, with a four goal margin as the super shot period began.

With the crowd rallying and no second defender to negate the work of Wood out the front, the Lightning edged back the margin to draw even with just over two minutes on the clock. Some timely pickups from Price, Parmenter and a great intercept from Koenen added a goal to the Lightning tally to take the lead, with dwindling confidence in the GIANTS attack making for inaccuracy and scrappy play around circle edge, with the Lightning taking out a huge and controversial 58-57 victory.

For the Lightning, Koenen was accurate as ever with 32 goal at 94 per cent accuracy, with Wood (13 from 21) and Proscovia (eight from eight) also troubling the scoreboard at times. Langman was influential as ever with 18 assists and was one of five players to nab an intercept, with Maweni collecting two alongside her nine gains. Pretorius led the penalty tally for the Lightning with 16 to her name, while her opposing goal defence in Manu’a racked up 13 and Parmenter 17. In what was a quieter outing for the young wing defence, Parmenter came away with just the one intercept but impressed with her ability to negate Scherian, while Poolman held up impressively well in defence alone for four gains (two intercepts, one deflection, one rebound). GIANTS captain Harten shot 24 from 32 including three super shots from seven attempts, while Austin had another great game out in goal attack to finish with 19 from 25 at 76 percent, including two super shots.

>>> LIGHTNING TEAM PAGE

>>> GIANTS TEAM PAGE

>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING 16 | 14 | 11 | 17 (58)
GIANTS NETBALL 15 | 16 | 18 | 8 (57)

Lightning

GS: Cara Koenen
GA: Steph Wood
WA: Laura Scherian
C: Laura Langman
WD: Maddy McAuliffe
GD: Karla Pretorius
GK: Phumza Maweni

GIANTS

GS: Caitlin Bassett
GA: Jo Harten
WA: Maddie Hay
C: Jamie-Lee Price
WD: Amy Parmenter
GD: Kristiana Manu’a
GK: Sam Poolman