WHILST the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season was completed last month, the postseason content does not stop with our positional analysis series up next. Up next are a couple of goal defences in Sunshine Coast Lightning star Karla Pretorius and the ever-reliable Jo Weston. They present similar methods of attack given they are both renowned for their ball winning ways but also have a couple of key differences.

Karla Pretorius

There is no denying that Pretorius is one of the premier defenders in the competition with the South African able to turn a game on its head within a heartbeat. She covers the court with great ease and is a constant threat given her footspeed and unsuspecting long arms which enable her to create timely tips. Pretorius is never out of the action, able to burst onto the scene and use her explosiveness to upset the flow of opposition attack units. Even in quiet games, Pretorius has an innate ability to stand up when needed and deliver whether it be with a strong rebound or a timely deflection such is her nous. Her footspeed is impressive, able to dance around the body of her opponent and zip in to pick up a bounce pass with relative ease. She is strong both in the air and at ground level while her balance and all round spatial awareness are another couple of crucial components to her game play.

Jo Weston

A Melbourne Vixens fan favourite, Weston is one of the most consistent and damaging goal defences in the business with her quick footwork enabling her to manoeuvre around the body and force tips and deflections. She is a real competitor who is not afraid to body up on opponents and engage in a bit of a niggle to offset her opponent. Her versatility makes her somewhat of a triple threat down back able to seamlessly slip back into goal keeper when necessary or go about her business in wing defence. Weston is a tight one-on-one marker that goes toe-to-toe with her opponent and contests every single pass to ensure she keeps the pressure on her opponent. She has a good turn of speed and is strong in transition able to bomb it long into the goal circle with great precision. Another key element of Weston’s game play is her lean over the shot, using her reach to put doubt in the shooter’s mind while her strength on the rebound is also key with her elevation sometimes flying under the radar.

Comparison

Both players boast an array of talents and are equally as damaging but when it boils down to their ball winning capabilities it is fair to say that Pretorius takes the cake. She has been in the top two for intercepts over the past two Suncorp Super Netball seasons registering an impressive 43 this season. Although Weston is a proven ball winner she only recorded 16 intercepts for the season highlighting Pretorius’ ability to see an opportunity and capitalise with her closing speed and elusive style of play to drop back into the space and gobble up intercepts.

Pretorius can read the play like a book and that is often reflected in her ability to rack up the deflections collecting 70 for the season as opposed to Weston who managed 52. This is a testament to their different defensive approaches with Pretorius a space style defender that does not pay close one-on-one attention to her direct opponent, instead doing her best work when able to roam freely to cut off any passes coming into the defensive third. Weston, on the other hand, is a smothering style of player who shadows her opponents every move to wear them down and grind them into the ground with her high work rate and constant body work. When it comes to rebounds, Pretorius also has the upper hand amassing 21 compared to Weston’s 10, this in part due to their respective goal keepers and the styles in which they play, with Pretorius often dropping back to double-team in the goal circle.

A key difference between the two is the hands over pressure applied outside of the circle. Weston is renowned for her big hands over the pass to block the vision of her opponent while Pretorius plays more of a space defence and does not always employ that type of defensive pressure. In terms of versatility, Weston also pips Pretorius at the post with the Melbourne Vixens defender able to swing into both wing defence and goal keeper when necessary such is her defensive calibre. This is not to say that Pretorius cannot do the same thing, however it is not often that Pretorius is seen outside of that goal defence position given her continued dominance there.

Weston uses her extra seven centimetres to full effect, able to put pressure over the shot or pass while Pretorius uses her nimble footwork to inflict pain on the opposition. In terms of frame Weston has that added strength not often out bodied or muscled whereas Pretorius is a lot slimmer thus steers away from the physical battle but instead engages in a more loose style of defence. Both players are real scrappers, constantly on the lookout for the loose ball and putting the after burners on to track it and send the ball back down court.

It is fair to say that Weston has a bigger say through transition often backing up at the transverse line to provide support to her attackers and while Pretorius chimes in to move the ball down court, is not as prominent as the Australian goal defence.