THE final match of Suncorp Super Netball Round 6 saw a top four battle between Sunshine Coast Lightning and Adelaide Thunderbirds, with the two sides evenly matched for the most par,t but home court advantage and experience paying off for the Lightning in a 53-45 victory.

A tight and somewhat error-ridden first quarter from both teams saw a close encounter start how it would finish, tightly contested but seeing the Lightning find purchase and goals with much more ease. While both teams were defensively firing from all cylinders early, the Lightning were much quicker to put scores on the board through Steph Wood from range and Cara Koenen exploiting free space with her exceptional goalline drive. With Karla Pretorius shining through the midcourt and Koenen rebounding with ease against Shamera Sterling, the Lightning seemed to be a much more cohesive unit than they were against the GIANTS during the week and extended an early 7-3 lead, forcing a time out from the Thunderbirds midway through the term. 

A tight midcourt defence forcing short passes around attack was what worked well for the Lightning and they exposed every single hole in the Thunderbirds attack in the first quarter, with a couple of wasted passes over the goal line limiting opportunities for the away side. While Pretorius had switched on, youngster Georgie Horjus took everything in her stride and shouldered the load with Phumza Maweni and Pretorius keeping their South Africa teammate Lenize Potgieter away from clean possession within her range.

The attacking combination between Chelsea Pitman and Maisie Nankivell may have missed their link early in the quarter but the duo worked their way into the game, making use of their smooth moving and Horjus’s ability to steal attention from Potgieter to open up space at the post, although the opposition combo of Laura Langman and Laura Scherian stepped up once more to completely control the momentum of the game. Sterling was completely run down by a zippy and energetic Koenen, which saw the Lightning lead by seven goals at the first change.

The second quarter started much the same with Lightning controlling a lot of the contest and unable to negate the constant work rate of Langman through the midcourt. Stagnant movement in the Thunderbirds attack saw little opportunity to get ball into the circle, although continuous and patient circle rotation by Horjus and Potgieter saw the Thunderbirds attack continue to chip away with stellar movement down the court when they injected speed and energy into it, evading defensive forays. 

With clever feeds from the Lightning limiting Sterling’s ability to cherry pick the lob and allowing Koenen to find ball with ease, it looked like the home team could do no wrong. But a couple of little wins and one percenters from the Thunderbirds saw the side edge back the margin bit by bit, drawing back the deficit to five, although limited ease of transition down to attack from the Lightning saw little else go in their favour as the super shot period began for a seven goal deficit once more. 

While the Lightning did their job forcing Horjus out of the super shot zone, it allowed Potgieter to take a few easy single shots which undid some of the intensity the Lightning had in defence early. But a couple more missed opportunities in attack for the Thunderbirds saw the Lightning continue to control the contest despite a smaller margin, leading 27-22 at the main break.

The second half saw a good start from the Thunderbirds, with the attack flowing much better although an unexpected – and uncharacteristic – Potgieter miss under the post saw the star goaler miss out on finishing off her consecutive century that has built over the past few rounds. Sure enough, soon a two-goal margin was in effect with the girls in pink seeming to apply a lot more intensity in attack. But a few clumsy errors from the Thunderbirds kept the Lightning ticking too, with an even quarter seeing little separation between the two teams apart from the margin. Both Pretorius and Layla Guscoth pulled tricks out of nowhere to see a pinball effect between the two goal thirds, with exceptional timing allowing the two teams to win back a heap of ball.

The entry of Sasha Glasgow and Kate Shimmin to the court saw a three-goal run from the Thunderbirds, but the stability and calm play in attack from the Lightning saw the Thunderbirds unable to steal a lead despite trailing by two as the super shot period began. While a miss from Wood could have seen the Thunderbirds take control with a rebound, goal and the next centre pass, a wasted opportunity over the goalline saw Langman raise the intensity in the way only she can. A last second super shot from Glasgow saw the Thunderbirds trail by just one goal at the final change.

A huge final quarter saw Peace Proscovia join the fray in goals, with Wood rotating into wing attack as a result and seeing the side start well with the changes, while Shadine van der Merwe returned to the court to tag Wood. Better intensity on the rebound from Sterling saw the goal keeper find a bit more ball than her quiet opening half, while van der Merwe’s injection paid off in patches especially on circle edge. The Thunderbirds needed a turnover but it was no cigar with the short and snappy drives from the Lightning continuing to find plenty of connection. A contact from Proscovia saw the Thunderbirds have a chance to get a few on the trot, with Pretorius denying that chance and rocketing the ball back up the court. Langman’s influence saw the Lightning extend the lead with a couple good goaling runs as Maddy McAuliffe lifted once more. With no crucial super shot attempts falling for the Thunderbirds, the Lightning finished with an eight-goal victory, 53-45.

Koenen was named player of the match for her 32 goals at 89 per cent accuracy, while Wood racked up 14 goals and 16 goal assists. Langman’s 20 assists and gain saw the star midcourter find plenty of the ball while the defensive trio of Pretorius, Maweni and McAuliffe racked up a whopping three intercepts apiece. For the Thunderbirds, Potgieter shot at 97 per cent with just the one miss for 28 goals, while Horjus (11 from 18) had some great patches and Pitman racked up 16 assists.

>>>LIGHTNING TEAM PAGE

>>>THUNDERBIRDS TEAM PAGE

>>>FULL MATCH STATS

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SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING 16 | 11 | 12 | 14 (53)
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS 9 | 13 | 16 | 7 (45)

Lightning

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

Thunderbirds

GS: Lenize Potgieter
GA: Georgie Horjus
WA: Chelsea Pitman
C: Maisie Nankivell
WD: Shadine van der Merwe
GD: Layla Guscoth
GK: Shamera Sterling

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Courtside Comments: Round 1 – Maisie Nankivell

Courtside Comments: Round 5 – Georgie Horjus