By Matt Fotia
The SSN season is a marathon, not a sprint.
And deep down all fans will tell themselves not to overreact to one win, one loss, one quarter or even one moment.
Basically, don’t ride the rollercoaster.
Thursday Takes flies in the face of that logic.
Each week you’ll find our raw, unfiltered views on your club and what the weekend’s performance means for them going forward.
Check it out below.
MAVERICKS
Olivia Lewis just changed the game.
Mavericks' defender Olivia Lewis has been well established as a fan favourite over the years. A dynamic, all energy goal keeper, Lewis is often tasked with the most difficult roles in netball, negating the tall holding shooter.
On Saturday evening she showed another side to her impressive game, ingenuity.
Lewis managed five blocks on Saturday, including three unique executions when Firebirds import Mary Cholhok was shooting. Rather than setting up in front of Cholhok, Lewis came from the side, or behind the 201cm shooter using her expert timing and outrageous leap to swat the ball away, mid-flight path.
This technique had an obvious effect on the Firebirds goalers, who could be seen taking nervous glances over their shoulders when shooting throughout the rest of the game down in Hobart.
Will we see it again?
Let’s hope so.
Has Olivia Lewis changed defending forever?
FIREBIRDS
Need a win to stay alive.
The Firebirds were the (on court) good news story of the season during the opening fortnight, winning back-to-back fixtures under new coach Kiri Wills and looked a chance to make an assault on finals for the first time since 2018.
A month on and the momentum has steadily slowed.
Nippy goal attack Tippah Dwan has missed the last two weeks of action in an attempt to get on top of a knee niggle, and their overall play has lost a little bit of the cutting edge they showed in the opening rounds.
This weekend’s game against the Vixens looms as a make-or-break fixture for the Firebirds.
Lose and their chances of playing finals will fall by the wayside.
Win and they can re-inject some spark into their campaign.
TARNTANYA KARNTU
The small ball shooting circle is another example of what makes Tania Obst so good.
It has been uncharted territory for Tarntanya Karntu the last month or so. They’ve been without their star Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and have lost three of their last four games for the first time since 2022.
The tide will turn though, especially with Tania Obst at the wheel. The two-time premiership coach is well known for ringing the changes, and she was at it again on Saturday during their exciting loss to the Fever.
During the second quarter Power Five, Obst threw a curveball Dan Ryan’s way when she went to a shooting circle of Lauren Frew and Georgie Horjus, before repeating the dose late in the third quarter as well.
The results? Tarntanya Karntu outscored the Fever 10-5 during the seven minutes Frew and Horjus spent in the goal circle and the agile youngsters finished the game with nine super shots from 14 attempts.
It wasn’t enough to get Tarntanya Karntu across the line, but it’s just another lever for Obst to pull in their charge for an unprecedented threepeat.
Tania Obst went off the beaten track on Saturday.
FEVER
Have hit their straps.
Saturday’s win against Tarntanya Karntu was a real statement for the girls in green.
They were defensively superb, pulling 15 gains to Tarntanya’s eight, and gave away just 47 penalties, 16 less than their hosts, all while remaining clinical with the ball in hand.
Sunday Aryang led the way with seven gains, but it was the collective effort which was so impressive, with only Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Shanice Beckford failing to register a gain.
With two very winnable games against the GIANTS (away) and Firebirds (home) on the horizon, the Fever are looking the goods for an assault on the top two once again.
GIANTS
The wins are coming.
Despite the final scoreline, there was plenty to like from the GIANTS on Sunday.
They brought a physical edge and energy which gave the Swifts a real shock to start proceedings and moved the ball well at times, converting all their gains (five) into goals, but as is the case with all young sides, they were unable to maintain the rage for the full 60 minutes and were put to the sword by the Swifts.
They face another tough test against the Fever this weekend but have an imminently winnable game against the Vixens in Round 8.
Bring what they brought on Sunday, and they will be singing the song sooner rather than later.
SWIFTS
Putting Allie Smith in centre unlocks the scariest front three in world netball.
In a worrying sign for the rest of the competition, the Swifts seem to have found another gear, thanks to the injection of Allie Smith into centre.
Smith, who played the second half in the Swifts win against the GIANTS, is nominally a wing defence meaning she plays the game with a slightly more defensive outlook than the likes of Verity Simmons and skipper Paige Hadley.
By having her in the centre position, she allows Hadley to play with even more attacking freedom than usual, which in combination with Helen Housby and Grace Nweke spells danger for defences league wide.
VIXENS
Need to spice it up.
Before outgoing coach Simone McKinnis dropped her now viral line about taking her chargers to the pub, she freely admitted her side was looking a bit flat.
Worryingly the Vixens failed to score more than 14 goals in a quarter against the Lightning and finished the game with their lowest score of the year (50). In fact, the Vixens have only gone past the 60 mark twice this year, during their two wins against the GIANTS and Mavericks.
So, if a few drinks at the local doesn’t work, perhaps a couple of new combinations might.
Young goaler Lily Graham shone brightly again, finishing with 11 goals, four super shots and five assists from her limited time on court and could be the shake-up the Vixens need.
Lily Graham impressed on Sunday.
LIGHTNING
Batchy’s brilliant breakout shouldn’t have surprised you.
It’s been an up and down journey for Lightning goaler Reilley Batcheldor.
The young attacker has suffered ACL injuries in 2019 and 2022 and has spent a large chunk of her professional career rehabbing.
On court, the Queensland product has been utilised as more of an impact player, coming into the game to change things up and shoot super shots, behind international pairing Steph Fretwell and Cara Koenen.
Presented with an opportunity to start on Sunday, Batcheldor took it with both hands.
In a game which housed four Diamonds (or retired Diamonds) goalers, she was the standout shooter on court, slotting 48 goals to silence the Vixens home crowd.
Batcheldor has as pure a shooting technique as you’ll see and has been one of the best sharp shooters this season, going at 94% from one point range (100/106), the most accurate Australian for this metric.
Only internationals Grace Nweke, Shimona Jok, Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Helen Housby have shot one pointers more accurately than Batcheldor this season.
Just another reason Lightning are a force to be reckoned with in 2025.
