ROUNDS 8 and 9 of Suncorp Super Netball saw some huge results, and instead of combining player stats from the two rounds, we will now take a look at the two different rounds of competitions separately and delve into the top performers based on individual outings. The two rounds were topped off with a premature retirement from Collingwood Magpies midcourter Madi Browne, who sat out of both games but deserves a mention for her services to netball over the past 15 years, including time at four clubs in the Melbourne Kestrels, West Coast Fever, Melbourne Vixens and most recently, Magpies.

ROUND 8

Round 8 saw some huge results as the Queensland Firebirds put a second win on the board, beating their 2019 tally while the West Coast Fever absolutely blew the Sunshine Coast Lightning out of the water to mount a real top four berth that many were unsure whether the side was capable of. The Melbourne Vixens narrowly defeated the Swifts while the Magpies had a magnificent opening quarter before the GIANTS ran away with the win.

Unsurprisingly, Jhaniele Fowler topped the goal tally again in Round 8, dominating to post with 57 goals at 97 per cent – a tally that could easily have reached the 70s, given she was off for the last 10 minutes. Next in line were three other huge targets – all internationals – with both Mwai Kumwenda and Sam Wallace putting up 46 goals apiece (Wallace with three super shots) while Romelda Aiken continued her solid season with 40 from 45 attempts. In at goal attack, Kiera Austin (25 goals from 33 attempts), Georgie Horjus (23 from 30 including four super shots) and Steph Wood (21 from 27, seven super shots) were all huge in shared efforts alongside their respective goal shooters. When it came to feeds into the circle, there is no doubt that Liz Watson is the most prolific wing attack in the competition, racking up a whopping 37 assists from 53 feeds, with the next highest tally going to an impressive Verity Charles (26 assists from 41 feeds), assisted by Alice Teague-Neeld (21 assists, 10 goals, one intercept).

Defensively, a whopping five players collected three intercepts – two defenders (Courtney Bruce and Kim Jenner), two midcourters (Laura Langman and Maisie Nankivell) and one goaler (Austin) – while Jodi-Ann Ward was the only player to tally more with five to her name. Ward also topped the gains tally with 12, though Bruce (9) and Geva Mentor (7) also put out solid efforts. 

ROUND 9

The second round of the week saw all four “away” teams win their respective matches, with the closest margin of the round a six goal victory to the Lightning, bouncing back well from their Fever outing. Meanwhile, both Swifts and Vixens were convincing in their pursuit for top spot, bolstering their percentages as they came away with 15 and 20-goal wins. 

The usual suspect in Fowler put up another 63 goals to close out the round with both Wallace (47 goals) and Aiken (45) next in line, though Aiken’s 79 per cent left something to be desired for the Firebirds. Shimona Nelson and Peace Proscovia may not have gotten a wealth of court time this round (24 and 22 minutes respectively) but sunk all of their 16 and 15 attempts at 100 per cent, while rotation inside the circle seemed to be the flavour of the round as the GIANTS, Vixens and Lightning all had a trio of goalers hit double figures on the scoreboard. To the surprise of no one, Jo Harten topped the super shot tally for the round with seven from 10 attempts to keep the GIANTS in the contest against the Vixens. 

Watson once again topped the assists count with another 32 to her name, while partner in crime Kate Moloney racked up 18 to go with her five gains. Charles added another 24 assists to her tally while Mahalia Cassidy carried the load for the Firebirds with 21 from 41 feeds. Defensively, Sarah Klau was outstanding with seven intercepts against the Magpies and just six penalties to her name, while Karla Pretorius returned to her past form with six intercepts as did Bruce who continues to impress on return from injury. Despite sitting out for the last six minutes of the match to injury, Shamera Sterling racked up 10 gains, while Mentor and Jamie-Lee Price led the deflections tally with 15 and 10, though majority did not result in individual gains and their respective teams went down by significant margins. 

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Courtside Comments: Round 1 – Maisie Nankivell

Courtside Comments: Round 5 – Georgie Horjus