Talking points: Round 10

By Sophie Taylor & Stephanie Smarrelli

Upset wins were the talk of the town this week as the Suncorp Super Netball season continues to entertain and impress.

We run you through our top talking points from Round 10.

THE SOUND OF THE MIGHTY GIANTS

In case you missed it, the GIANTS got their first back-to-back SSN win in two years.

Yep, you read that correctly.

The GIANTS hoodoo is broken and they’ve jumped up two spots on the ladder in the process.

The combination between Erin O’Brien and Casey Kopua has set tongues wagging in recent weeks, and the duo was monumental against Lightning pair Cara Koenen and Steph Fretwell.

While the new-look duo is still in the learning stage of their partnership, they shone bright again on the weekend to combine for 12 gains.

Amy Sligar is having a career-best season and picked off three intercepts against Liz Watson and Leesa Mi Mi.

Jo Harten (41 goals) and Sophie Dwyer (32 goals) were clean with ball in hand, making it hard for the Lightning to get hands to any loose ball.

And with the Sydney derby looming on Sunday afternoon, they’ll be brimming with confidence as they suit up against the Swifts who have just suffered two losses in a row.

The GIANTS may no longer be in the race for finals, but they will do everything in their power to shake up the competition over the next few weeks.

VIXENS COMING THROUGH

It hasn’t quite been the season the Vixens were after, but it’s safe to say they’ll be feeling pretty good after an outstanding win over the Swifts.

If there’s one thing the Vixens are good at, it’s following the script to a T.

The Fever set the blueprint of how to beat the Swifts last week, and the Vixens followed suit

A massive 39-30 first half from the Vixens set the tone for the rest of the match while the Swifts got within touching distance during the second half, it was a matter of too little, too late in the final quarter. Five Suncorp Super Shots from the Swifts reducing the margin off the hand of Helen Housby.

 But the Vixens were able to keep their nose in front, getting away with a two-goal win and important ladder points to stay within touching distance of the top three.

Housby was kept quiet by the ever-reliable Jo Weston, who nullified the goal attack’s impact and enabled Rudi Ellis to pick off five crucial gains against Grace Nweke.

Kiera Austin’s evasive movement wreaked havoc at the other end and kept the Swifts defence on the back foot.

She finished with 26 goal assists and 20 goals, combining seamlessly with Sophie Garbin (47 goals from 49 attempts).

PENALTY COUNTS

It may seem like a simple task, but Round 10 well and truly proved that there’s a correlation between staying in play and the match result.

Three of the four losing sides had higher penalty counts than their opposition on the weekend with only the Thunderbirds breaking the mould in their victory against the Firebirds.

The Swifts were the most highly penalised side on the weekend, picking up 62 penalties to the Vixens’ 49.

Sarah Klau topped the list with 22 (15 contact, seven obstruction) while Rudi Ellis accounted for almost half of the Vixens’ penalties with 20 to her name (18 contact).

Importantly, it was the Vixens’ ability to stay in play which allowed them to maintain control.

Kate Eddy had only four penalties to her name on the weekend and forced a revolving door of wing attacks in the process.

Intriguingly, the Firebirds – who lost to the Thunderbirds – registered the lowest penalty count of the round (36).

Twenty-one of those penalties can be attributed to the defensive duo of Isabelle Shearer and Ruby Bakewell-Doran, though Bakewell-Doran’s five intercepts more than made up for her total of six penalties.

ON THE STATS SHEET

Nweke cracked 500 goals for the season on the weekend and remains marginally ahead of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard (486) and Shimona Jok (437).

That trio remains in the same order for goal attempts, while Mary Cholhok continues to lead the charge for offensive rebounds (60) ahead of Romelda Aiken-George (53).

O’Brien has taken the defensive rebound lead over Bakewell-Doran, while Latanya Wilson (69 deflections, 28 intercepts) has been enormous all season adding nine gains to her tally on the weekend to lead both stats.

Origin Diamonds Courtney Bruce (55 deflections) and Sarah Klau (17 intercepts) follow Wilson for each category.

Housby’s accuracy from range was on show again over the weekend and has overtaken Matisse Letherbarrow for Suncorp Super Shots scores and attempts, sitting on 48 from 75 at 64 percent for the season.

Mavericks replacement player Uneeq Palavi has entered the top five in both categories for the first time with 33 from 53 at 62 percent.

Alice Teague-Neeld and Liz Watson share the floor for goal assists and centre pass receives, both swapping and changing the stat they lead from week to week.

This week it’s Teague-Neeld marginally ahead in goal assists (211 to 207) while Watson is atop the list for centre pass receives (210 to 203).