Latest news with #AmyParmenter
News.com.au
17-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Super Netball, round 6 news, scores: Jok stars in Mavericks' win over Firebirds
In a Super Netball match that featured a good old fashioned shootout, the Melbourne Mavericks banked just their second win of the season, by seven points against the Queensland Firebirds. Both teams featured towering shooters and defenders working overtime to make a dent in their volumes. It was the Mavericks who had the best of the deal, with a pumped up Shimona Jok rock solid under the post with perfect stats of 61/61 in an MVP performance. Goal keeper Liv Lewis was also having her best game of the season showing incredible athleticism to force four blocked shots against opponent Mary Cholhok. Despite giving away a 17 centimetre height difference, Lewis' aerial display restricted passes into Cholhok and her confidence to go to the post. Her volume of just 33/44, despite a supportive cameo from Emily Moore, just wasn't enough to threaten Mavericks on the scoreboard. After watching from the sidelines last week with an ankle injury, Mavericks captain Amy Parmenter made a spectacular return to the game. Her physicality forced numerous errors by the Firebirds as she finished with two gains and four deflections. A heavy head collision between Firebird Ruby Bakewell-Doran and Maverick Sasha Glasgow in the third quarter saw them both leave the court. Both were forced to temporarily leave the court under the league's concussion protocols, with Bakewell-Doran visibly distressed on the sidelines. Earlier this week, Firebirds goal attack Tippah Dwan decided to step away from the game to continue rehabbing her knee. Dwan's departure presents a prime opportunity for Emily Moore to show why she deserves a full 60-minutes which, coach Kiri Wills said is something she would like to see from Moore. While she didn't quite hit those minutes today, her contribution of 17/22 is heading in the right direction. Samoan goal attack Abigail Latu-Meafou has been filling the vacant goal attack role for the Firebirds over the last two rounds. Latu-Meafou's connection with Cholhok is on point and her efforts at post also helped the Firebirds make a comeback attempt, however her nine from ten including four supershots were not enough. MISSING MAVS Today's match marks 20 outings for the Melbourne Mavericks. Yet since their inception 18 months ago, the team has not once taken the court with their full 10 contracted athletes. In 2024 Sasha Glasgow and Lauren Parkinson (nee Moore) missed the full season. So far in 2025 Parkinson is yet to make her Mavericks debut, and English international Eleanor Cardwell is unlikely to return to play until Round 12, as she rehabs from knee surgery. WILL THEY SWAP DWAN FOR A DIAMOND? Mere hours before the news dropped that Dwan was taking a break, former Firebird and Diamond's goal attack Gretel Bueta posted a netball training session to social media. The Liz Ellis Diamond winner hasn't played netball in well over two years, after having stepped away to expand her family with husband Nico. And while it could be a great coincidence and pure speculation that she is making a return to the game, the timing could be the saving grace for the Firebirds.
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Super Netball Round-Up: Mavericks 'murdered' by silly errors, Firebirds captain's show of solidarity and Swifts win ugly
The real contenders and pretenders of Super Netball are starting to emerge after five rounds. The Adelaide Thunderbirds beat the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane 62-53, to see the hosts stoop to three straight losses. Despite changes to their roster, the Firebirds are still failing to connect with a tall goal shooter. West Coast Fever jumped into the top four for the first time this season, as they handed the Melbourne Mavericks their heaviest defeat, 78-61. It was a difficult watch for Mavericks coach Tracey Neville, who delivered some tough love to her players. Sunshine Coast Lightning defeated the Giants 74-56, as Cara Koenen slotted her 3000th career goal. Some may have put this down to Giants co-captain Jo Harten being absent for parental reasons, but she hasn't been a consistent force up front this year anyway. Lastly, the NSW Swifts were challenged by the Melbourne Vixens in the first instalment of the 2025 Sargeant-McKinnis Cup. At home, the Swifts prevailed 59-51 in what ended up being the closest game of round five. If you missed it, don't worry — we'll get you up to speed with our Super Netball Round-Up. The frustration boiled over for coach Tracey Neville, as she sat slumped, head in her hands, throughout the Mavericks loss to the Fever. Captain Amy Parmenter was ruled out last-minute when an irritated ankle she'd had a cortisol injection for earlier in the week didn't feel right to play. No-one stood up in her absence. The side lacked leadership and a steady head to direct play as one mistake led to another, like a domino effect. By the first break, they were down 22-14, and although Neville delivered some tough love in the huddles to try and inspire a fightback, they couldn't get any traction on the scoreboard. "Our unforced errors absolutely murdered us," Neville said afterwards. "Where we lost the ball was offensive contacts, held ball, footwork, it was just silly mistakes. "Those technical skills and our ability to finish off a game weren't good enough. "Maybe you do get found out a little bit, we are a new franchise, and we've got a new interchange every week, so you're always building relationships … but that doesn't take away your technical skills, that comes on the individual." Once again, the Mavericks haven't had their full-time, contracted 10 players available to start the season. Lauren Parkinson and Eleanor Cardwell are injured, while Sasha Glasgow is only four games back from a serious leg break that ruled her out in their inaugural year. But some of their issues are around game plan and intent. They need to work on their clock awareness instead of going through the motions towards the end of a quarter. The Mavericks are so focused on feeding shooter Shimona Jok that they continue to miss opportunities throughout the super shot periods to claw back the score. The offensive contacts racked up because they were pushing off the bodies of their opponents to get free instead of doing the prelims required. Both Olivia Lewis and Kim Brown previously played for Fever and have had plenty of experience training against Jamaican target Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard. Yet, neither had a single gain in the opening 30 minutes. They've lost four from five now, with games against the Firebirds and Thunderbirds left to come in this first half of the season. It's time for the Mavericks to decide if they truly want to be top-four contenders and, if so, who is going to provide the much-needed spark? As the Firebirds co-captain, Ruby Bakewell-Doran is in an awkward position. She's been at the club since 2019 through several controversies: The team has been through four different coaches in five seasons. They haven't played finals since 2018, so it hasn't been an easy ride. But Bakewell-Doran's enthusiasm in her new leadership role demonstrates her love for the Firebirds. She's also been their best performing player on court this season. Her decision to publicly support Kamo last week was therefore a pretty brave show of solidarity. It came at a time when the club had denied any wrongdoing and incoming coach Kiri Wills had had a crack at the media for continuing to report the issue. Underneath Kamo's video released via social media — where she explained her love of the game, that key witnesses hadn't been interviewed during the investigation and that she'd lost faith in Netball Australia — fellow defender Bakewell-Doran's comment was short and sweet. "Beautifully said Rem. So incredibly proud of your strength," she said. On Fox Netball show Pivot, Bakewell-Doran was asked why she felt compelled to publicly support her ex-teammate. "The majority of our team weren't present for anything that happened, so for them it's been business as usual, and I've been trying to keep that up while supporting my friend," she said. "We've been playing netball for many years together, so I wanted to have her back and support her, all while getting my club and team ready for a game. "Two things can be true — there were things that needed to be changed, and have been changed, and that Remi is a really good friend of mine; we experienced a lot together in those last two years. "I am here to lead my team and am really proud of the work we have done in the off-season. "We do have a lot of work to continue doing. For us, it is just being really positive and learning from what has happened and moving forward." Bakewell-Doran brought up her 50th Super Netball cap this weekend and that did get a little lost because of this story. The way she has handled herself is impressive, all while trying to put herself back in the mix for Diamonds selection after dropping off the national contracted list last year. They may be the only team left undefeated, but the Swifts have developed a bad habit, conceding the first quarter of a match for the last three rounds. Facing old foes, the Vixens, in a grinding battle that was all about defence, they started slowly and gave away possession in the midcourt. The signing of 1.93m New Zealand shooter Grace Nweke has given them a licence to test how far and high they can fire the ball into their circle. What's gone missing, however, is the discipline we've become accustomed to in their attack. Perhaps the pendulum needs to swing back a bit so that they can find a happy medium? In this match they struggled on the second phase of the centre pass. The team tried three different wing attacks before settling on the best combination, with Paige Hadley donning the WA bib and Allie Smith at centre. The lead changed four times in the opening half before this duo was locked in and then Swifts led the rest of the game. English import Helen Housby was caught in a tough tussle with Vixens goal defence Jo Weston. Although the goal attack managed three vital super shots, she only converted six regular goals. Housby's work in previous weeks to drive into the circle, create space, help with the shooting load and keep the defenders guessing has been one of the keys to the Swifts' success. For two teams that usually deliver such a clinical style of play, both were dragged into a really scrappy affair where they equalled each other's 23 turnovers. The Swifts will be thanking their lucky stars that goalkeeper Sarah Klau was able to win them so much ball back. The Player of the Match tallied nine gains, five intercepts, 13 deflections, two rebounds and three pick-ups . "Really proud of the girls to keep pushing, it wasn't pretty netball and I'm sure we'll learn lots from that," Klau said after the game. The Swifts haven't won all four quarters in any of their five victories. Still, they'll take confidence in the fact that they're still getting the results and can build on their form heading into the back-half of the season.
