By Sophie Taylor
A massive opening round of Suncorp Super Netball action set tongues wagging on the weekend.
We run through some of the major talking points.
DEBUTANTS GALORE
Seventeen players made their league or club debuts over the weekend in a huge showing of talent and skill.
With five of the eight clubs fielding at least one newcomer there were moments of confusion in every clash – but lots to be excited by, if the talent on court is anything to go by.
The Mavericks played the most newbies, with five fresh faces to the side.
The standout was Jamie-Lee Price who had an outstanding first outing in the sky blue, while the GIANTS debuted four players in the orange and charcoal with Jane Watson proving a threat from the opening minutes.
Thunderbirds newcomers Kate Heffernan and Elmeré van der Berg shone bright on debut against the Swifts, rarely missing a beat in an impressive showing.
Queensland sides Lightning and Firebirds both played three debutants apiece, with Lightning recruit Donnell Wallam marking a solid return to the league with 43 goals to her name.
Meanwhile the trio of Firebirds Ferns made their mark against the Vixens – particularly Kelly Jackson, who wreaked havoc in the goal circle.
The Mavericks and GIANTS debuted nine players between them in Round 1.
MOMENTS TO REMEMBER
The Melbourne Mavericks marked their maiden Round 1 victory over the weekend, defeating the GIANTS in Bendigo.
With five fresh faces taking the court – and one league debutant – the Mavs showed glimpses of what we can expect from the new-look side.
Elsewhere, the Adelaide Thunderbirds marked a new full-time score record on Saturday night with their 20-goal blitzing of the Swifts.
New Swifts captain Maddy Turner also marked her 150th match – remarkably, every single clash in Swifts red – while Mavericks captain Amy Parmenter marked her 100th SSN match with a win on Saturday evening.
New captains took the court for the Thunderbirds, Lightning, GIANTS and Swifts, with only Thunderbirds co-captains Georgie Horjus and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey getting a Round 1 win on the board.
FEVER COME OUT FLYING
Plagued by injuries and ‘what ifs’ coming into the season, there were lots of questions around the West Coast Fever coming in their Round 1 clash with the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
But despite it all, they came out with a point to prove and silenced the doubters in an excellent showing of their grit and determination in front of a home crowd at RAC Arena.
Sasha Glasgow shone bright in her return to Fever green, piling on the offensive pressure throughout a full 60 minutes despite an ankle tweak.
The goal attack was unflappable under pressure and looked at ease alongside Fever newcomer Romelda Aiken-George who piled on 53 goals.
Fever’s defensive stocks may be depleted, but Fran Wiliams and Kadie-Ann Dehaney were prepared for the fight ahead and combined for 10 gains between them.
The only challenge for the Fever will be to uphold this pressure, with head coach Dan Ryan not once looking to the bench despite the main seven fatiguing and the Lightning almost coming away with a steal in the dying minutes.
Expect the Fever to be a surprise packet as the season continues and injured players return – we haven’t seen the ‘real thing’ yet.
Fever were electric against the Lightning on Sunday afternoon.
ON THE STATS SHEET
Thunderbirds recruit Van der Berg topped the league for goals scored with 59 goals from 62 at 95% accuracy on debut. She was closely followed by Aiken-George (48) and Wallam (48).
Glasgow’s 27 assists proved crucial in Fever’s victory, while teammate Alice Terague-Neeld came up trumps for centre pass receives (21).
Kiwis Heffernan and Watson topped the main defensive leaderboards, with Heffernan’s three intercepts taking top spot for the T’birds and Watson’s nine deflections piling on pressure for the GIANTS.
Watson’s teammate Matisse Letherbarrow was the most successful from range finishing with six Suncorp Super Shots from nine attempts, while Wallam sunk five from 13 attempts and Uneeq Palavi also proved solid with five from nine.
