WITH big wins to the Saracens Mavericks, Team Bath and the London Pulse in Round 3 it is no surprise that this week’s Draft Central Team of the Week was dominated by these clubs. No player from the Severn Stars or Surrey Storm made the cut this week despite some solid performances across the weekend while one player each from the Wasps and Sirens made their way in after some strong showings.

GK: Razia Quashie (Saracens Mavericks)

The Roses and Mavericks goal keeper has kicked it up a gear in season 2020 with the talented defender backing herself down back and causing all sorts of headaches for her opposition attacking ends. Quashie had her work cut out for her in the goal circle using her quick footwork to dance her way around the defensive circle and pick off passes. The goal keeper showcased her ability to read the play with four intercepts and while she was highly penalised with 16 for the game it was her ability to win ball back that evened it out.

GD: Jo Trip (Saracens Mavericks)

Joining her partner in crime, Trip impressed for the Mavericks with her defensive pressure and ball winning abilities. The goal defence starred throughout the match keeping, goal attack Paige Reed to 14 goals highlighting just how much work she was putting in over the shot and to stop her from receiving the ball. Trip followed Reed across the court with her three-foot marking on full display and most importantly stayed in play for a majority of the time only racking up 10 penalties. Her ability to win ball back and propel it down the court was a key feature of her game recording five intercepts while her strength under the post to bring down rebounds was also solid collecting three for the game.

WD: Imogen Allison (Team Bath)

Allison has taken her game to a whole other level this year upping the defensive pressure and taking on a mountain load of work through the midcourt to disrupt opposition attack units. The wing defence plied her trade throughout the match working hard to win the ball back or block her opponents every move with her shadowing style of play to clog up space. Credit to her cleanliness and high netball IQ, Allison managed to stay away from the whistle not registering a single penalty while also picking up two intercepts highlighting just how impressive she is.

C: Khanyisa Chawane (Team Bath)

Chawane led the charge through the midcourt for Team Bath sensing the space and driving into to it to create attacking forays. Chawane has not skipped a beat since stepping into the side with her speed and strength a couple of key attributes of her game play. Renowned for her defensive pressure the midcourt player picked up an important intercept and was clean with ball in hand not creating many turnovers.

WA: Adean Thomas (London Pulse)

The Jamaican midcourter and new recruit brought plenty of excitement to the court with her impressive speed and aerial ability constantly getting a hand in anything that came her way. While more tailored to the attacking role she showcased her defensive side with a couple of timely deflections in the midcourt to force the opposition to reset and look for ways around her pressure. Her dynamic footwork to receive the ball and then effortlessly dish off to teammates impressed throughout the game constantly backing her high release passes and good vision. She was not afraid to feed the ball well and truly away from the circle edge such was her confidence in the pass and strength to hit targets inside the circle.

GA: Eleanor Cardwell (Manchester Thunder)

The goal attack once again played a pivotal role in Manchester’s narrow win over the weekend. Cardwell showed her ability to hit the scoreboard with an impressive 24 goals from 28 attempts at 86 per cent credit to her read of the space and ability to score freely. She is a key cog in the attacking third with her strong drives and height consistently able to have an impact, particularly in the circle. Cardwell is a real play maker sensing the moment and able to stand up even displaying her defensive attributes with two intercepts throughout the game.

GS: Rachel Dunn (Wasps Netball)

Although her side did not manage the win, Dunn was a lone hand in the goal circle for the Wasps only missing one goal from her 47 attempts for the match. It was a flawless performance by the experienced goal shooter who stood tall under the post using her quick hands and clever body positioning to reel the ball in and shoot truly. When she is on, Dunn is hard to stop and that was shown in her clash on the weekend consistently buttering up and backing herself from range time and time again.

BENCH: Sigi Burger (London Pulse), Caroline O’Hanlon (Manchester Thunder), Zanele Vimbela (Strathclyde Sirens),

There were a couple of strong performances throughout the round with Vimbela, Burger and O’Hanlon unlucky not to make the starting seven. It is hard to deny that Burger has gone from strength to strength and this performance echoed those thoughts with the towering goal shooter finding good space under the ring and used her height to command the ball. She was the main scoring option for the Pulse credit to her high volume and accuracy to post along with her ability to move around the circle and use her feet to edge closer to the post. Up the other end, Vimbela also made her way onto the bench after a solid performance for the Sirens with her long arms and reach doing the damage with two intercepts and six deflections along with a rebound. Through the midcourt O’Hanlon was up to her usual tricks with her dynamic movement and vision on song once again. Her two way running was another feature of her game.