By Sophie Taylor
Big results shook the competition this week as the finals race tightens up once again.
We run through the main talking points from Round 12.
TBIRDS GO A GAME CLEAR
Tarntanya Karntu (Adelaide Thunderbirds) have all but locked in the minor premiership and a home semi final after downing the Vixens on Sunday.
Smothering defence helped deliver the Vixens their second loss of the season, learning from their mistakes back in Round 6.
A blistering 33-17 first half set up the victory, keeping the Vixens to their lowest SSN quarter score (seven goals).
The Vixens had no answers for Elmeré van der Berg who played her role to perfection with 49 goals and punished further with three straight Suncorp Super Shots.
Kate Heffernan and Latanya Wilson worked seamlessly to turn over the ball and create opportunities out the front, while Shamera Sterling-Humphrey’s long arms over the shot caused errors in the Vixens attack.
Unfortunately for the Vixens, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to their bench.
With Hannah Mundy allegedly on managed minutes and Lily Graham a late out with back soreness, the Vixens had no one to really turn to when things stopped working.
The Thunderbirds sit a game ahead on top of the ladder after Round 12.
Victorian pathways player Mia Lavis made her debut under tense circumstances, providing Sophie Garbin a valuable moment to speak to head coach Di Honey, while Mundy played just the 17 minutes across two quarters.
That said, if the Vixens can manage their fatigued bodies ahead of the finals, they could well and truly change things on the next occasion.
MAVS FIND THE BALANCE
It’s been an outstanding season so far for the Mavericks, who are on the verge of a finals appearance for the first time in their short history.
But what has changed since their challenging first half to the season?
Balance.
A balance of court time, firstly, managing the depth that they’ve gradually increased as the season progresses.
Shimona Nelson had an outstanding first half before Kadie-Ann Dehaney gained confidence on the weekend.
Enter Uneeq Palavi.
She was the super sub on Saturday night, seamlessly taking over from Nelson and forcing the Fever to completely change their defensive setup.
Secondly, that magic balance of penalties and gains.
That ratio has been a major talking point this season, particularly around the Mavericks’ physicality and how that converts to wins.
Mavs brought the energy to a record-breaking RAC Arena on Saturday night.
But the Mavericks seem to have got that balance sorted now, with 17 gains, 10 intercepts, 14 deflections and 55 penalties on the weekend.
Seven gains off the hand of captain Amy Parmenter – one of the most heavily criticised – helped get the Mavs over the line, while the defensive trio combined for eight gains inside the circle.
The Mavericks’ confidence has continued to go up as the season has continued, so watch this space – they could be in for a huge finals series.
LIGHTNING AND SWIFTS LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN
Yep, you guessed it. There’s still a very minor chance the Lightning and Swifts can make finals… if everyone else ahead of them falls at the final hurdles.
While the odds are low, if the Mavs and Fever drop both their games and the Lightning and Swifts win both and get a big percentage boost each, there’s technically still a chance.
The Lightning have Firebirds and Thunderbirds next on their radar, with one of those an opportunity and the other a likely challenge.
The Swifts will also face the Thunderbirds, with the lowly GIANTS next up in Round 14.
So is a finals overtake actually possible?
Look.
Probably not.
However, this finals hope is what keeps the Fever and Mavericks on their toes heading into the final two rounds.
Both those teams will face the Vixens in the coming weeks, which will put hope in the Lightning and Swifts’ camps after a long slog to the finish line.
ON THE STATS SHEET
Van der Berg has well and truly taken the lead on the scoring front, with 603 goals from 665 attempts at 91 per cent accuracy. Grace Nweke sits solid in second (587 goals at 91 per cent) while Donnell Wallam holds strong in third (555 goals at 84 per cent).
Grace Whyte sits atop the goal assists tally with 266, closely followed by Georgie Horjus (250) whose teammates Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson are atop the leaderboard for deflections and intercepts respectively.
Sterling-Humphrey’s 80 deflections puts her well at the top ahead of Courtney Bruce (68) while Wilson marginally sits ahead of Jessie Grenvold for intercepts (30 to 29).
