GIANTS Netball will host the Super Netball Minor Semi Final next weekend, after they defeated the Sunshine Coast Lightning 68-65.

Despite the final score line, the GIANTS dominated much of the game and were very much the deserving winners.

The victors’ intent was there for all to see from the get-go, as they raced out to a 6-0 lead.

Once the Lightning finally got going, they hit back hard and reduced the lead back down to a mere two goals.

The GIANTS were then able to stop the flow of Lightning scores, and the visitors never got closer to the GIANTS than that.

One noticeable aspect of the GIANTS’ game was the speed with which they got the ball down to the shooters. From the middle third, it was a quick three passes and Sophie Dwyer or Jo Harten were in position ready to take the shot.

For the Lightning, their shooters were not game enough to attempt the super shot for one reason or another. Although she is normally very at ease from super shot range, Steph Wood only made one attempt in the first quarter and it was a miss.

At quarter time it was the GIANTS who held a four-goal lead, and for the most part looked the much better side in the opening fifteen minutes.

An eight-goal to one start to the second quarter in favour of the GIANTS saw the margin quickly blow out to over 10 goals.

Despite a little resurgence from the Lightning, it did not amount to much of a worry for the GIANTS as they continued to pile on the scoreboard pressure.

The GIANTS ultimately won the quarter 20 goals to 12, and so took a 12-goal lead into the major break.

Sunshine Coast rejigged its attacking end in the hope that things would turn around in the second half and they did to a degree, as the margin was pegged back a touch and the intensity increased.

Although the GIANTS had a roughly 10-goal lead for much of the quarter, as the final five minutes approached the Lightning finally started to get into the game, and got the gap down to as low as six goals.

Six goals is where things also sat at three quarter time, but the Lightning were certainly back in contention and just needed to continue on their run.

Unfortunately for the visitors, they could not peg back the score for much of the quarter as the GIANTS were able to maintain their seven to eight goal buffer.

However, the Lightning were certainly not going down without a fight, and Wood and Reilley Batcheldor super shot the Lightning back into contention.

Unfortunately for the Lightning though, they did win the quarter but did not quite have the time they needed to fully catch up, with the GIANTS holding on by three.

There were some impressive individual performances from the GIANTS.

April Brandley finished with six deflections, while Amy Parmenter and Matilda McDonell finished with five deflections each.

Maddie Hay finished with a whopping 49 feeds, while the partnership between Harten and Dwyer was again exceptional.

GIANTS NETBALL                             19 | 20 | 13 | 16 (68)
SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING     15 | 12 | 19 | 19 (65)

STARTING SEVENS

GIANTS Netball:

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

Sunshine Coast Lightning:

GS: Cara Koenen
GA: Steph Wood
WA: Laura Scherian
C: Maddie Hinchliffe
WD: Mahalia Cassidy
GD: Kate Walsh
GK: Tara Hinchliffe