Talking points: Round 12

By Stephanie Smarrelli 
 
Well that was quite the weekend of netball. 
 
The stakes were high, some teams delivered under pressure, but others fell apart. 
 
We run you through our top talking points from Round 12. 
 

THE MIGHTY MAVS 
 
Saturday night produced an absolute blockbuster.  
 
The Mavs saved their best for their last home game of their season. 

There wasn’t a Mavericks fan inside of John Cain Arena who wasn’t up on their feet cheering during their clash with the Swifts. 

Seven goals down to start, the Mavericks should have been truly out of the contest, but the Swifts let their guard down. 

The Mavs upped their defensive pressure across the court, with young gun Jessie Grenvold at the helm. 

Having come up against Swifts star Grace Nweke in Round 2, Grenvold knew what needed to be done. 

Working with Kim Brown, the duo played off the body to confuse space and turnover ball with the help of their teammates out front. 

The match was full of frenetic energy and the Mavs thrived during the fast-paced, often messy play chasing down balls and confusing their opponents at every turn. 
 
They embraced the chaos and bounced back from their errors in a way only a true Maverick could. 

On the other hand, the Swifts crumbled. 
 
A side that has been so clinical throughout the season struggled to work the ball down the court safely to get it in the hands of the right players at the right time. 

The Swifts almost took the win in the final Power Five off the hot hands of Sophie Fawns and Helen Housby but their Super Shot prowess wasn’t enough to get the team over the line. 
 
The Swifts know how to win, we’ve seen it all season, but with three losses from their last four matches there’s one question to ask. 

Can the Swifts actually win the premiership? 

Teams have uncovered the blueprint to beating them, they’ve fallen to second on the ladder and with only two rounds to play until finals they need to find their form and step up to the challenge ahead.  

Head coach Briony Akle wasn’t too concerned about the loss post-match but they’ve got plenty of work to do over the next few weeks to lift the premiership trophy.  

While the Mavs won't feature in finals, this match could be the turning point needed to fire up for 2026. 
 

THREEPEAT DREAM ALIVE 
 
The back-to-back premiers have flown under the radar a little this season. 

Without star Shamera Sterling-Humphrey many didn’t think they would still be lethal, but they’ve proved everyone wrong. 

The reigning premiers are proof that one player doesn’t make a team, and they’ve continued to step up across the court. 

While they’ve had the better of the Vixens in recent times, defeating them over the weekend in Melbourne was massive. 

It’s the first time they’ve done it during the SSN era, and the win puts them back in the top four. 

With games against the Mavericks and Lightning to come they’ll like their chances of staying there but neither side will bring anything less than their best to defeat the reigning premiers.  

It wasn’t a pretty win in Melbourne with the TBirds having a higher penalty count than the Vixens and a smaller turnover count by just two. 

But those two less turnovers were influential in the end with the side winning by three goals and the Vixens unable to convert in the dying minute.  

They had to grind out the match and take everything the Vixens threw at them. 

Latanya Wilson fired with five gains and was instrumental in the win as was captain Hannah Petty who finished with five deflections. 
 

LIGHTNING HANGING ON BY A THREAD 
 
Lightning’s 15-goal loss to Fever was another nail in the coffin of their season. 

They’ve got two tough matches to go, against the Swifts next week who are sitting in the top two and hungry to find form before taking on the Thunderbirds the week after who will want to cement their spot in finals. 
 
Slipping out of the top four this week for the first time this season, Lightning are still in the mix for finals but are at danger of missing out and this loss could be the one that separates them from the pack in the end. 

Lightning were without star goaler Cara Koenen for a second week in a row, but they’ve proven they can win without her before. 

While missing her will be looked at there were other issues for the Lightning when they went head-to-head with Fever over the weekend. 

Fever sensed a disconnect on the court and they took advantage of it from the get-go. 

Lightning registered seven turnovers at the start of the match before ending on 28. 

Misplaced passes were easy pickings for Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Fran Williams and Sunday Aryang. 

Fever converted 76 per cent of their gains compared to Lightning’s 33 per cent throughout the match. 

The Sunny Coast side had to rely on Super Shots to keep the scoreline from looking too bad at times with Steph Fretwell uncharacteristically hesitant under the post. 

The Lightning veteran shooting at 65 per cent accuracy, down on her season average of 75 per cent. 

Liz Watson was strong in the midcourt but even the Origin Diamonds captain wasn’t exempt from adding to the turnover tally. 

In defence, all eyes were on defending Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard but Shanice Beckford ran circles around them a stark reminder of how dangerous she can be. 

Sitting fifth on the ladder is no place a team wants to be two games before finals but if they can put this weekend behind them and bounce back there’s still a chance they can resurrect their season once again.

Fever on the other hand have put themselves in prime position with the win, now sitting on top of the ladder. 

GIANTS SURVIVE SURGE

Down the other end of the ladder the GIANTS and Firebirds battled it out with the GIANTS surviving a scare from the Firebirds to remain above them.

The teams at the bottom of the ladder delivered a clash full of Super Shots and highlight-worthy moments.

But it was a strong start and finish from the GIANTS that helped them get the win in Jo Harten's 200th National League Game.

Strong starts have been a feature of the GIANTS in recent weeks with the side's confidence and skills tending to fade as matches go on and their opponents build into the games but this week they weathered the storm.

Matisse Letherbarrow was a standout slotting four Super Shots when called upon to get the job done in the final term. 

She came on with about 10 minutes to go and was able to warm into the match and get her eyes locked on the prize. 

On the other hand, Firebird Emily Moore only had three minutes to impact the scoreboard when called upon during the fourth quarter.

She'd taken to the court for patches of play earlier in the game but it was too late for her to make a difference only slotting the one goal in the final quarter.

Shooting partner Abigail Latu-Meafou nailed Super Shots throughout the match but was unable to sink any when it mattered most with the GIANTS pressure over the shot too good to get around. 

Neither side will feature in finals but they'll take plenty of learnings from Round 12 and the next two weeks.