AFTER a big round of netball, we see some regulars return to the Draft Central Team of the Week with Karla Pretorius making her fourth appearance in the side after an impressive performance. While the top of the table NSW Swifts have two players feature in the side along with the Collingwood Magpies. Despite suffering another loss the Adelaide Thunderbirds have two players on the bench after their stellar efforts with the Firebirds the only team not to feature a player this round.

GK: Geva Mentor (Collingwood Magpies)

The England Roses international defender was her vintage self, out hunting for the ball and confusing the space. She worked overtime in defence to get cleanly around the body of Caitlin Thwaites and applied immense pressure throughout the entire four quarters. Her impeccable footwork and sheer understanding of the game makes her such a huge threat and she well and truly asserted her dominance in the goal circle against the Vixens. She denied easy access into the circle and used her impressive lean over the shot to put Thwaites off her game. Mentor finished the game with a whopping eight gains, five intercepts and three rebounds highlighting her defensive prowess. She also had no turnovers for the game displaying her excellent ball use.

GD: Karla Pretorius (Sunshine Coast Lightning)

After a quiet couple of weeks Karla Pretorius was back up to her lofty standards cherry picking intercepts and applying good defensive pressure to try and limit the influence of her direct opponent-Maria Folau. Though Folau made her presence felt on the scoreboard the work that Pretorius did out the front was impressive, clogging up space and pushing Folau up high to stop her entry into the goal circle. Her timely tips and read of the play were on full display with the talented defender picking up six gains, four intercepts and three deflections. Her work over the transverse line was also important in providing that attack through the midcourt with five centre pass receives and a sneaky goal assist.

WD: Ash Brazill (Collingwood Magpies)

The athletic wing defence won our poll this week after a stellar performance against the Vixens. Her ability to nullify the influence of superstar Liz Watson was exciting to watch blocking her space and causing utter confusion in the Vixens attacking end. Brazill’s speed off the mark, read of the play and clever footwork allowed her to get hands to ball time and time again with two gains, one intercept and four deflections. While her defensive work is a real asset of her game her attacking flair is also important for the Magpies with her drive through the middle of the court exceptional.

C: Jamie-Lee Price (GIANTS Netball)

In her new found position Jamie-Lee Price had an impressive game against quality opposition in both Verity Charles and Jess Anstiss. Given her defensive background she picked up plenty of turnover ball and used her hands over pressure to block her oppositions vision finishing with two intercepts and two deflections. But it was her attacking effort that was equally as impressive leading the goal assists for the GIANTS with 17 from 22 feeds. She used her good vision and clever passes to slice through the opposition defence and deliver the ball to Caitlin Bassett and Jo Harten in the circle.

WA: Maddy Proud (NSW Swifts)

In arguably career best form the Swifts captain once again showcased her attacking prowess carving up the attacking third with her dynamic movement and clever ball placement before injury struck. She went down midway through the third term with a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury but prior to that the wing attack was dominating. Her hustle to sit at the top of the goal circle, carefully weighted passes and connection with shooters Helen Housby and Sam Wallace was exceptional with 21 feeds. Meanwhile her patience to swing the ball around with Paige Hadley through the midcourt was important to help the Swifts attain prime position across the court.

GA: Helen Housby (NSW Swifts)

Housby continued her hot form and took control in the goal circle with her strong drives and ability to turn and shoot. She shared the load with Wallace and treasured possession throughout the game. The goal attack did a wealth of work through transition amassing 18 centre pass receives while showing great composure under the post to nail 27 goals from 31 attempts. Her defensive efforts also did not go unnoticed with a clever intercept and two deflections to go with her 13 goal assists.

GS: Jhaniele Fowler (West Coast Fever)

Fowler has been a walk up starter for Draft Central’s Team of the Week and this round was no different with the Jamaican shooter single handily owning the attack end for the Fever. Her composed nature under the post and ability to turn and shoot is second to none. She simply absorbs the defensive pressure and posts an exceptional number of shots converting 61 goals from 65 attempts at 94 per cent. Her athletic ability, long split, ball control and aerial ability makes her a huge asset for the Fever while also posing a dominant threat for opposition defenders.

Bench: Shamera Sterling (Adelaide Thunderbirds), Renae Ingles (Melbourne Vixens), Maria Folau (Adelaide Thunderbirds)

Unlucky to miss out on a starting position, excitement machine Shamera Sterling has made her way onto our bench credit to her defensive prowess. Her sheer ability to get hands to ball, athleticism and read of the play made her an ominous threat picking up eight gains, five intercepts, four deflections and two rebounds. Teammate, Maria Folau also had arguably her best game in the Thunderbirds colours with her clever ball movement and accuracy to post. The long bomb specialist was in full flight nailing 25 goals from 29 attempts at 86 per cent while her work out the front was impressive commanding the ball and setting up multiple attacking forays. Narrowly losing the wing defence poll, Melbourne Vixens wing defence Renae Ingles rounds out the team after another impressive performance. Her hands over pressure, deceptive speed and general netball know how won her player of the match awards finishing with seven gains, three intercepts and five deflections.