By Matt Fotia
Molly Jovic’s super 2024 has been a major factor in the Melbourne Mavericks surprise push for a finals place, and her coach isn’t downplaying her influence one bit.
Tracey Neville was more than happy to praise the work of her star centre following the Mavericks 12-goal win over the Firebirds.
Jovic had 38 feeds and 29 assists in the win over the Firebirds, working well in tandem with Maisie Nankivell (27 feeds and 20 assists) to help keep goalers Shimona Jok (47 goals) and Gabby Sinclair (19) happy.
Neville said Jovic is one the driving forces behind the SSN’s newest club, highlighting how important an in-form centre is to a successful unit.
“She’s the barometer of the team,” Neville said of the Williamstown junior.
“You always need your centre to play well.
“When you talk about world class centres, they’re the ones that control, demand and really orchestrate that attack and defence, and I think that’s something that we’ve been building.”
Jovic is averaging 28.1 feeds and 16.1 assists per game in 2024, well up on her numbers with Collingwood in 2023. Neville stated that Jovic’s increased attacking output is key in her evolution as a player.
“Last year (at Collingwood) she didn’t play a huge role in the feed to the circle, but that’s been something we’ve really been building on (with) her,” said the former England mentor.
“That’s actually the centre’s job now.
“It’s not just about your defensive efforts or about releasing the ball on the centre pass, it’s about making an impact on that circle.
“If you have two players that do it (impact the circle), it becomes really key for our attack and it gives our shooters a lot more support knowing they can receive ball from either one of our attacking players.”
Jovic was the only member of the Mavericks starting seven to not play the full 60 minutes on Sunday due to a knock in the final moments.
It was just the second time this season that the Mavericks didn’t lean on their bench to change the game.
Molly Jovic has been instrumental for the Mavericks this year
Neville said that match ups are the driving force behind her positional moves, and she felt the starting seven were in control across the four quarters.
“We think about match ups,” said Neville when asked about her lack of changes during the win over Queensland.
“Match ups are really important in a game and where we are going to potentially win a positional (battle) or are going to have to make a positional change.
“The players that were (on court) were getting on top of their player and were doing some really clinical work and were actually taking the moments and learning from them.”
Sunday’s win was a crucial one in the Mavericks pursuit of a finals appearance in their debut season, moving them level with the Sunshine Coast Lightning on four wins apiece.
Goaler Gabby Sinclair thinks her side are well placed for an assault on the top four, despite a tricky run home which includes games against the Lightning in Hobart, the Fever in Perth and the Thunderbirds in Adelaide next week.
“We’re in a really good position.
“We’ve got a couple of big games coming up and we’re looking forward to the challenge and (seeing) what we can do.”
