By Sophie Taylor
Closer results and two remain undefeated.
Here are the biggest talking points from another huge round of action.
DID THE GIANTS FIND THE THUNDERBIRDS BLUEPRINT?
Sure, the GIANTS didn’t get an elusive first win on the board in Round 5.
But gee, were they close.
While it was a tough loss, the other six clubs will be circling like vultures after the GIANTS not only set the tone early but controlled the airways throughout.
While they were missing defender Jane Watson, who has been ruled out for the next 6-8 weeks (link ins and outs), the GIANTS defence slowed the Thunderbirds’ punch through the midcourt to cause crucial turnover ball.
Sophie Dwyer was a woman possessed in attack, shaking off early season criticism.
She shot 19 goals at 100 per cent and piled on 15 goal assists, showcasing her netball smarts as she evaded the watchful eyes of Latanya Wilson and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey.
But where Dwyer shone, fellow Australian Diamonds goaler Georgie Horjus stepped up.
Horjus was well-defended by GIANTS tagger Amy Sligar in the first half but stepped out of the shadows in a huge second half at goal attack, particularly a massive nine goal, four assist final quarter.
The speedster’s elusive moves took the pressure off teammate Elmeré van der Berg and allowed the side to storm home 19-14 to claim the two-goal win.
Of course, the GIANTS’ result paves the way for the Round 6 battle between the undefeated Thunderbirds and Vixens this week.
The Vixens will look carefully at the defensive setups and loping ball movement of a similarly structured moving circle in attack to evade the Jamaicans’ wandering hands.
As for the GIANTS, they will spend some time licking their wounds before turning to an achievable matchup against the Lightning on Sunday afternoon.
AIKEN-GEORGE MARKS 250
Nineteen seasons, four clubs and a retirement later, and Romelda Aiken-George is still going strong.
250 games is no easy feat but Aiken-George certainly makes it look that way after making her national league debut back in 2008 and rarely skipping a beat since then.
Not only that, but she’s also on track to steal the all-time national league games record off Cath Cox later this season… a record that is unlikely to be surpassed again anytime soon.
The towering goal shooter has proved yet again this season how important she is to a teams’ success, boasting more than just experience and height in the goal circle.
Her ability to provide an option to post – as both a goaler and rebounder – is critical, while her movement also has the astounding ability to bring any goal attack into a match.
While the Jamaican-born superstar chose to put away the bibs last season, she has proved she is still up to her old tricks and more than capable of shining.
HOW IMPORTANT IS ACCURACY?
Netball loves to talk about accuracy.
In fact, netball thrives on it.
Accuracy to post, accuracy on the feed and how those two factors combine to make a deadly team.
But this weekend proved that while accuracy can be critical, offensive rebounding is even more-so.
Three of the four winning teams this week had more rebounds, all coming from goal shooters who set up shop under the post.
That ability to control proceedings from the deepest part of the court cannot be denied.
Even for the losing sides, that ability to get their hands on the ball before it can be turned over allows them to keep piling on pressure.
Look at Mary Cholhok and Aiken-George, for example.
The two sides shot at roughly 70 per cent accuracy apiece on the weekend, going head-to-head in a four-goal thriller.
And while many of the rebounds were off their own attempts, even Dwyer’s two – off the GIANTS’ three misses all match, all from Suncorp Super Shots – enabled the side to keep their heads up against an athletic Thunderbirds defence.
That being said, accuracy was a main character in most of the weekend’s wins, especially if you were to remove Suncorp Super Shots from the equation.
ON THE STATS SHEET
Thunderbirds defensive duo Wilson and Sterling-Humphrey continue to reign supreme defensively, holding top spot on the stats sheet for intercepts (18) and deflections (33) respectively.
Sterling-Humphrey remains top of the leaderboard for rebounds while teammates van der Berg (239 goals) and Horjus (115 goal assists) lead all comers in attack.
Cholhok’s rebounding dominance remains strong with 52 to her name for the season so far, while Donnell Wallam has the most goal attempts with 288 to her name and Maddie Hay has been a key receiver at the centre pass with 112.
Kiera Austin was strong from range again on the weekend, taking her Suncorp Super Shot tally to 24, while Matisse Letherbarrow remains on top for attempts (35).
