Latest news with #SuperNetball
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Super Netball Round-Up: Giants sign 40-year-old 'fossil' as injury replacement and is the Diamonds shooting circle in trouble?
Round eight is complete and we're over the halfway hump of the Super Netball season. The Sunshine Coast Lightning held on against the Melbourne Mavericks, 67-60, to move up a spot and claim third place. The undefeated NSW Swifts were challenged by defending premiers the Adelaide Thunderbirds in a see-sawing affair, 66-64. The lead changed six times and Romelda Aiken-George hit a 9,000-career goal milestone before the Swifts claimed their eighth straight victory. That run equals the club's best winning streak of the Super Netball era. The Giants put up an entertaining fight against the Melbourne Vixens after a big week of headlines. But a shock signing that attracted worldwide attention couldn't help them shift off the bottom of the ladder and they faded in the final quarter, 71-61. Lastly, the West Coast Fever handed the Queensland Firebirds a sixth straight defeat, 82-65. The 17-goal blowout took place in front of the Fever's second-biggest crowd in club history (11,427). If you missed it, don't worry — we'll get you up to speed with our Super Netball Round-Up. On Tuesday, the sad news broke that Jamaican defender Jodi Ann Ward had been ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Ward had surgery and will now need to nail her rehab if she has any chance of representing her country at next year's Commonwealth Games. Then came the temporary replacement signing of Casey Kopua on Friday that sent the netball world into a frenzy. It would be her first elite netball game in six years, during which she has been keeping fit by teaching F45 classes and playing socially. Kopua was affectionately dubbed by New Zealand as one of 'the fossils' that won the Netball World Cup in 2019, alongside veterans Laura Langman and Maria Folau. The Silver Ferns had flown under the radar throughout that major tournament until the finals, where new head coach Noeline Taurua's mastermind tactics and fitness standards guided them to upsets against England and Australia. Kopua had previously retired from international netball in 2017 but came back to have one more crack at the trophy that had alluded her three times before. She was named as the MVP of the gold medal match before retiring once again — this time from all forms of netball. To say this Super Netball signing was left field would be a massive understatement and speaks to her relationship with Julie Fitzgerald, who previously coached Kopua at the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic before moving home to Australia to become the inaugural Giants coach. Kopua answered the SOS call from Fitzgerald on Tuesday, left her three kids behind to jump on a plane on Wednesday, and joined the Giants for her first training session on Thursday. By Sunday she was making her Super Netball debut, 18 days shy of her 40th birthday. Although it came out of the blew, Kopua was keen. "This certainly was not on my bingo card for 2025, I loved every minute," she said. "The first text from Julie was, 'Want to make a comeback?' and I was like, 'Huh, are you serious, how would that work?' "There were about six or seven texts from me in a row before she answered." Kopua was initially brought over as a one-off, but discussions are now underway to sign her on a longer contract as the Giants try to avoid finishing with a consecutive wooden spoon. There was so much hype generated for this appearance that the Giants recorded their second-best crowd attendance at Ken Rosewall Arena so far this season (3,076) behind the NSW derby. So how did she do on court? For starters, Kopua played a full match at goal keeper. That's impressive. She got a reasonable amount of hand to ball (three deflections, one rebound) and the presence of a legend was enough to put off the Vixens shooters — who only found out they would be facing Kopua after they'd finished their weekly prep. Is she going to be the difference between winning games and losing them? That's debatable. But the Giants have made it clear that the stalwart is more so here to bring her leadership qualities and play a supporting role to 21-year-old Erin O'Brien than anything else. In that goal, Kopua succeeded. Offering advice and structure to the Giants at the back in defence while O'Brien picked off a game-high seven gains. Now that we've entered the back half of the season, it's time to do a temperature check on how our Diamonds players are tracking as they vie for national contracts. England announced its 2025/26 list last week, but Australia has delayed theirs in order to allow players more time to prove themselves in a year where there is no major tournament. It seems they need it, because running our eyes over last year's national squad brings up concerns for the shooting circle. For one, there are less Australian shooters occupying starting positions in our domestic competition, giving the selectors a smaller pool of talent to pick from. Only the Lightning, Vixens and Giants operate moving circles that hinge on homegrown talent. The rest of the five teams centre their game plans around a tall holding import under the post. It's no coincidence that each of these targets are the league's top five leading goal scorers. Three of these five teams also have an import signed as their main goal attack. Secondly, there has been some dicey form on show. It's most obvious at the Vixens, where Diamonds duo Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin have struggled to connect in the same fashion they did to reach the 2024 Super Netball grand final. Garbin missed eight attempts at goal on Sunday and the majority of those were under the post (43/51). She was also pulled up five times for offensive contact and both players are in the top five for turnovers this season. To be fair to Austin, most of the ball she has lost has been whilst trying to feed Garbin. Sophie Dwyer is another that has a really high turnover count and her confidence has taken a hit the past two seasons as the Giants trail the competition. Georgie Horjus made her international debut last year as a genuine wing attack and goal attack swing, but has spent less time in goals this season for the Thunderbirds; instead focusing on the midcourt. Cara Koenen started the season slow and was under an injury cloud ahead of round six when she was spotted at the airport in a moon boot. She watched the entire game from the sideline, then in round seven came off the bench to play for 30 minutes. In round eight, Koenen took back her starting spot in the Lightning's line-up and managed 56 minutes. Maybe that injury cloud has now lifted? Then there's Donnell Wallam, who left to play in the New Zealand Premiership and is still eligible for selection. However, she hurt her wrist two weeks ago and missed round four. The Northern Mystics are yet to provide an update. Lastly, Diamonds invitee Lucy Austin has been demoted to the Super Netball Reserves. So, do the selectors stick with these players and hope to rebuild their confidence in camp? Or do they look to reward form and blood some new faces like 23-year-old impact player Reilley Batcheldor, a consistent force in the super shot period for the Lightning? A couple of weeks ago we mentioned the Australian set-up was hopeful Gretel Bueta might return to the game after having her third child. If she was to come back would that sort out the uncertainty for the Diamonds shooting circle? More will become clear in the final six rounds of the regular season.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Hannah Petty's career-best performance headlines the Super Netball Team of the Week
A career-best showing from Hannah Petty has led to the Adelaide Thunderbirds captain snaring a spot in the team of the week but there's little doubt the dual-premiership winner would hand that back for a win. The Thunderbirds and NSW Swifts played out the match of the season at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena, with the Swifts staging a spirited fightback to keep their unbeaten record alive. Petty was outstanding at centre, with 19 goal assists, 31 feeds and two crucial gains and while her team were pegged back after holding a double-digit lead at one stage in the third term, they showed they remain premiership threats, even without star defender Shamera Sterling-Humphrey. Check out Emma Greenwood's Super Netball team of the week below, and use our team picker tool to select your team of the week for Round 8. Just two Swifts are among nominees for the team of the week though, a reflection of the fact they were well down for much of the night and won the moments – rather than the contest overall – to help their team fight back into the match. Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard was back doing Fowler-Nembhard things in becoming the first player to sink 6500 Super Netball goals, her only miss coming from a super shot attempt in the final seconds with the game won. Check out Emma Greenwood's Super Netball team of the week below, and use our team picker tool to select your team of the week for Round 8. Kiera Austin and Hannah Mundy sneak into CODE Sports' team of the week after leading the Vixens to a hard-fought win, although they had plenty to contend with from a fighting Giants outfit including young defender Erin O'Brien. Sunday Aryang continues to impress in the west, whether defending in the circle or out at wing defence, where she starred on Sunday, while Courtney Bruce made a return to full form to help the Lightning maintain their place in the top four.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Vixens pull off big comeback in Super Netball
The Melbourne Vixens remain in touch with the Super Netball top four after a 71-61 win over the Giants at Ken Rosewall Arena. Down by four at quarter-time and still two at the main break, the Vixens clicked into gear in the second half to notch consecutive victories for the first time this season. Despite being anchored to the bottom of the ladder with just one win, the Giants stormed out of the blocks and threatened to derail the Vixens' finals aspirations. But Melbourne pulled away with an 18-10 final quarter, including sinking a super shot on the fulltime buzzer. Goal attack Kiera Austin, who starred by making 16 of her 19 shots while giving off 20 goal assists, described the encounter as "tiring". "The Giants came out really well and credit to them," Austin told Fox Sports. "I think we probably started a bit slower than what we would have wanted, but stoked to have been able to come out at halftime and actually really hit it hard - what we should be doing from the get go. "I'm really proud of our defenders, I thought they stayed switched on the whole time. "We probably could have rewarded them a little bit more in the first half, but we're building so we'll take some good things from it." The Vixens return home for a clash with Melbourne rivals, the Mavericks, next Sunday. Next up for the Giants is a tough road match in Adelaide against the Thunderbirds, who suffered a close defeat to undefeated juggernaut NSW Swifts on Saturday night.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Kopua, 39, set for shock return to game
Former Silver Fern captain Casey Kopua is in line for a shock return to elite netball. Kopua, 39, has been named as a replacement player for the Giants against the Melbourne Vixens for their Super Netball game tomorrow. The defender, who retired after winning the Netball World Cup in 2019, replaces Giants' Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward, who tore her ACL and is out for the rest of the season. The Giants are also without regular defender Tilly McDonnell. The New South Wales franchise announced Kopua's inclusion yesterday. Kopua, who played 17 seasons for the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic, will link up with her former Magic team-mates Jo Harten, Jamie-Lee Price and coach Julie Fitzgerald, who are all with the Giants. The goal defence, who was one of the inaugural inductees into the Netball New Zealand hall of fame last year, was one of the best defenders during her tenure, including being part of the Magic side that won the ANZ Championship in 2012. Kopua retired from internationals in 2015 but returned to the Silver Ferns when Noeline Taurua took over the side in 2019 and led them to their first Netball World Cup in 17 years.
West Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Vixens pull off big comeback in Super Netball
The Melbourne Vixens remain in touch with the Super Netball top four after a 71-61 win over the Giants at Ken Rosewall Arena. Down by four at quarter-time and still two at the main break, the Vixens clicked into gear in the second half to notch consecutive victories for the first time this season. Despite being anchored to the bottom of the ladder with just one win, the Giants stormed out of the blocks and threatened to derail the Vixens' finals aspirations. But Melbourne pulled away with an 18-10 final quarter, including sinking a super shot on the fulltime buzzer. Goal attack Kiera Austin, who starred by making 16 of her 19 shots while giving off 20 goal assists, described the encounter as "tiring". "The Giants came out really well and credit to them," Austin told Fox Sports. "I think we probably started a bit slower than what we would have wanted, but stoked to have been able to come out at halftime and actually really hit it hard - what we should be doing from the get go. "I'm really proud of our defenders, I thought they stayed switched on the whole time. "We probably could have rewarded them a little bit more in the first half, but we're building so we'll take some good things from it." The Vixens return home for a clash with Melbourne rivals, the Mavericks, next Sunday. Next up for the Giants is a tough road match in Adelaide against the Thunderbirds, who suffered a close defeat to undefeated juggernaut NSW Swifts on Saturday night.
