WE headed to the clash between the Magpies and the GIANTS and took notes on two key players from each side. Ash Brazill celebrated her hundredth national league game while Diamonds’ Jamie-Lee Price showcased her skill throughout the match.

COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES: ASH BRAZILL

By: Taylah Melki

The milestone woman showcased her versatility and sheer athleticism pulling on the centre bib and making no mistake. Her ability to run and take the ball at full speed made her near-on impossible to stop through the midcourt. Her cleanliness with ball in hand and good vision to sight both Shimona Nelson and Nat Medhurst in the circle caused headaches for the GIANTS, as she released the ball with confidence and accuracy. With her attacking prowess on full display in the attacking third, her work defensively was equally as impressive contesting every ball and applying strong hands over pressure to cause turnovers.

Back into her renowned position in the second quarter, Brazill transitioned into a more defensive role working hard to challenge every crosscourt ball and keep Kiera Austin off the circle edge with her quick footwork and general netball nous. The wing defence did not give up throughout the entire match pressuring every pass and doing all the flashy things, getting up high to intercepts and creating deflections to try and regain possession. Her three-foot marking was second to none blocking the vision of her opponent. She took a huge intercept in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter right on the circle edge credit to her incredible balance and control while getting up high to aerial passes and re-offering on the transverse line throughout the course of the match.

GWS GIANTS: JAMIE-LEE PRICE

By: Sophie Taylor

Jamie-Lee Price was yet another Aussie who took part in the Netball World Cup, but did not appear to miss a beat as she took the court to play out the full 60 minutes less than a week after the World Cup final. Despite some general messiness in the opening minutes, Price found her form early against an untraditional rival in Ash Brazill, relishing the defensive pressure of a fellow wing-turned-centre to push Brazill hard in her milestone match.

Despite a positional switch in the second seeing Magpies’ Kim Ravaillion return to her traditional starting role in centre, Price still managed to find plenty of ball and created some impressive plays to lead from the front and take her side to an early lead. Price’s speed to get around the body and force turnovers for her side was influential, finding plenty of ball to transition back through the midcourt and drill her way to circle edge to feed to Jo Harten in the circle. Price’s workload was high in the first half, with Harten spending much of her time in the goal circle rather than working the ball in, but Price managed it well to still feed off plenty of ball despite also tiring early after the World Cup.

The second half saw Price’s intensity falter, though her connection did not with the likes of Kiera Austin in attack finding plenty of space to share some of the load feeding into the circle. Price provided majority of the feeds into the circle, racking up 21 assists from 29 feeds despite spending the final quarter in wing defence, nullifying the speed and quick hands of Kelsey Browne. Price also picked up four gains and two intercepts to leave her mark on the match.