Thursday Takes: Round 8

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. 

FEVER 

Kadie-Ann's at it again. 

Another week. Another Fever win. Another super outing from Kadie-Ann Dehaney, this time playing a key role on Firebirds shooter Mary Cholhok in front of a raucous RAC Arena crowd. 

Dehaney pulled in five gains and six deflections in a trademark performance on Sunday afternoon and is shaping up as the key player in the Fever’s quest to knock off the ladder leading Swifts this weekend. 

She will be buoyed by the performance of Jamaican teammate Latayna Wilson who had some success playing on Nweke on Saturday night. Dehaney (192 cm) is four centimetres taller than Wilson and will be hoping her extra reach, combined with her timing, jump, smarts and general nuisance energy, will be enough to quell the star Kiwi’s influence. 
 

FIREBIRDS 
Skipper Veve shows their spirit is strong. 

It could have been very easy for the Firebirds to wave the white flag on Sunday.  

On the road against a rampaging Fever (arguably the toughest job in netball) and off the back of a fifth straight loss, the Firebirds could’ve rolled over.  

But they did anything but, led by co-captain Hulita Veve.  

The Tongan star went to work from the first whistle, collecting 24 feeds, 16 assists, two intercepts and two pick-ups across two positions (C and WD). 

For all that’s been said, there is a different feel about the Firebirds in 2025.

 

GIANTS 

Julie was right to bring in an experienced replacement. 

For some, the decision to bring New Zealand legend and all-time great Casey Kopua out of retirement as a replacement for the injured Jodi-Ann Ward was disrespectful to the 100s of players scrapping it out at State League level each week. 

It denied someone the opportunity to show their skills on the biggest stage. 

But Julie Fitzgerald made the right call in searching for an experienced head given just Jo Harten (who has played limited minutes this season), Maddie Hay (who is sharing court time with 18-year-old Hope White) and Jamie-Lee Price are over the age of 23.  

Throwing another inexperienced defender out on court against the likes of Sophie Garbin, Kiera Austin, Hannah Mundy and Kate Moloney could’ve seen them become lambs to the slaughter. 

Development is a must for this GIANTS side, but you don’t learn anything from getting the run around. 

LIGHTNING 

Liz turned it on. 

It seems strange to say it, but Liz Watson has been slightly off the boil this season.  

Maybe it’s the lofty standards she has set for herself, maybe it’s the way the Lightning move the ball, maybe we’re not watching as closely.  

Whatever it is, she was back to her best on Saturday, racking up 45 feeds (2nd most for the season), 26 assists (most), 10 second phase receives (most), four pick-ups (most), 89.5 net points (most) and just two penalties (least). 

Maybe she was just timing her run. 
 

MAVERICKS 
Take that fourth quarter and bottle it up. 

For three quarters on Saturday the Mavericks were outplayed by a Lightning side eager to get back on the winners list, before they forced themselves back into the contest and gave the Lightning a fright, winning the final quarter 19-10. 

In the last quarter they had 120 net points, three gains, just two turnovers and eight penalties, compared to the first three quarters where they had 239 net points, four gains, 17 turnovers and gave away 52 penalties. 

They were more purposeful in attack in the final quarter as well, with 18 attempts from just 21 feeds, opposed to their 44 attempts from 79 feeds in the first three quarters. 

Finals are off the agenda for the Mavericks now, but there is still plenty to be gained from the remainder of the season. 

SWIFTS 

Are they too Grace centric? 

To be fair, the whole competition is. 

But have the Swifts become too predictable in attack?   

Nweke is so good, she more or less demands the ball without even asking for it and the Swifts are more than happy to oblige. But during the second quarter on Saturday, which the Thunderbirds won 19-9, Matilda Garrett and Latanya Wilson were able to get on top due to the predictability of their attack. 

This is highlighted by Helen Housby’s stat line from Saturday’s thriller. 

Housby had just 12 shots for the game (season low), shot just three one-point shots (season low) and didn’t shoot at all during the second quarter. 

Housby remains the biggest threat in the competition during the power five, but if the Swifts are to continue on their merry way, she must bring the same threat during ‘regular time’. 
 

THUNDERBIRDS 
353 seconds of madness cost them big time. 

With 10:30 gone during the third quarter on Saturday the Thunderbirds led the Swifts by 10 goals, 48-38 and had all but silenced the home crowd at Ken Rosewall Arena. 

By three quarter time the Swifts had cut the margin to just three (50-47) with a 9-2 swing, before a horror opening 90 seconds of the last quarter. 

The first centre pass was intercepted on the second phase to bring it back to two, before a circle edge mishap on their next centre pass allowed the Swifts to level things up. 

By 1:23 into the last, the Thunderbirds were behind. 

There was plenty to like about Saturday's performance, but those 353 seconds of chaos coast them dearly. 

 

VIXENS 

Has their attack end finally clicked? 

The Vixens up and down start to the 2025 season is best explained by their lack of offensive output. 
 
Usually clinical in attack, they struggled to find any rhythm on court, averaging just 56.5 goals and 55.6 feeds per game during the opening six rounds of the season, all while converting just 62.6 per cent of their centre passes into goals.  

The past fortnight has been a different story. 

Across Rounds 7 and 8, the Vixens have averaged 70.5 goals per game, 68 attempts and have been turning 78.5 per cent of their centre passes into goals, with Kate Moloney (53 feeds) and Hannah Mundy (74) enjoying upticks in attacking form, while Kiera Austin was back to her brilliant best on Sunday. 

For all their struggles, the Vixens are just percentage out of the top four and with their offence being to click, are well placed to make yet another assault on the finals.