IT was yet another draw for the West Coast Fever who claimed their third draw in four weeks after fighting back against the GIANTS in a thriller at RAC Arena. With a controversial ending the GIANTS just missed out on snatching a one-goal victory with the umpires clock and scoreboard showing different times, disallowing the goal.

The opening few minutes of the first quarter were messy with both sides unable to settle, over cooking passes and forcing turnovers. But the Fever were first to settle finding good structure in attack and sighting Jhaniele Fowler with ease under the post. The Jamaican scored her 1200th Suncorp Super Netball goal midway through the term showcasing her dominance under the post. Fellow goaler Kaylia Stanton struggled to get into the match only putting up one shot for the quarter and missing meaning Fowler was doing all the damage under the post. Credit to Fowler’s dominance in the goal circle Fever skipped out to a two-goal lead before the GIANTS upped the ante both defensively and offensively. In the final minute and a half of the quarter the GIANTS did all the running to push out to a three goal lead thanks to a clever intercept from Jamie-Lee Price off the Fever centre pass allowing them to stream forward and convert. The connection between Jo Harten and Caitlin Bassett was on song early with Bassett holding strong under the post and Harten sweeping across the top of the circle to shoot the long bombs. Bassett nailed 12 goals from 13 attempts while Harten converted six of her eight attempts.

The battle between Harten and Stacey Francis continued to heat up in the second quarter with Francis contesting every ball that came her way and using her speed to put doubt into the feeders’ mind. Meanwhile Courtney Bruce showcased her defensive prowess using her clever footwork to get around the body of Bassett and attacking the ball at every opportunity but it was not enough to deter the two-pronged GIANTS attack. Defensively the GIANTS lifted clogging up space in the middle corridor and forcing long loopy passes across the court. Sam Poolman increased her intensity pushing Fowler up high and limiting the access to post while also showing she was not afraid to go out hunting picking up three gains, four deflections and one intercept for the second quarter alone. Her partnership with Kristiana Manu’a was also on display with the two working well to cover Fowler and cause confusion in the circle. Kim Green was her usual self, controlling the play in attack and commanding the ball at the top of the goal circle. But Jess Anstiss did not back down from the fight with the young wing defence contesting every ball and showcasing her physical attributes to push Green to her limits.

Down by four at half time the Fever had a point to prove and came out strong after the break with their defensive pressure up and midcourt working harder to penetrate the circle edge. Verity Charles picked it up in the attack end moving into wing attack using the ball well and finding good space to feed into Fowler time and time again with nine goal assists. They seemed to have more movement and freedom in the attacking third with the GIANTS taking a while to adjust to the changes. Shannon Eagland came from the bench and did a wealth of work in wing defence pushing Anstiss into centre. Eagland applied good hands over pressure on Green trying to limit her play making ability for the GIANTS making for an exciting contest. The Fever worked tirelessly throughout the quarter creating turnovers and scoring off them to win the bonus point 19 to 17.

Still down by two goals at three quarter time the Fever pushed goal keeper Bruce out into goal defence in hope to limit the influence of Harten. With Bruce out the front, Olivia Lewis made her way onto the court with the youngster tasked with a difficult challenge before Francs returned in the dying minutes of the quarter. Amy Parmenter well and truly made a name for herself again this game with her work out the front exceptional. She covered the drives of Charles well and applied good strong hands over pressure to block her vision into Fowler. Parmenter’s ability to keep Charles off the circle edge was important while she also highlighted her defensive prowess picking up two gains and two intercepts in the final term to go with the two other intercepts collected in the opening quarter. Up by four goals with only minutes left in the match the Fever threw everything at the GIANTS drawing level but threw the pass away allowing the GIANTS with a chance to claim victory. With less than 10 seconds left on the clock the GIANTS worked the ball into the circle with Bassett sinking the goal but it was not counted as the siren sounded resulting in another draw for the Fever.

STARTING LINE-UP

West Coast Fever:

GS | Caitlin Bassett
GA | Jo Harten
WA | Kim Green
C | Jamie-Lee Price
WD | Amy Parmenter
GD | Kristiana Manu’a
GK | Sam Poolman

GWS GIANTS:

GS | Jhaniele Fowler
GA | Kaylia Stanton
WA | Ingrid Colyer
C | Verity Charles
WD | Jess Anstiss
GD | Stacey Francis
GK | Courtney Bruce