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Netball New Zealand

2025 ANZ Premiership Round 5 of 10: Northern Mystics continue to reign supreme fair and square v Central Pulse on a rare Sunday night game of Netball at TSB Arena

by Sports Benches June 8, 2025

Well, Mystics may not be able to have Donnell Wallam on the call right now but at least they’re so good at developing their own star-studded goal shooters – very important for the best of the community that extends to all high levels.

Meet Sophia Lafaialii who had one hell of an evening where she’s got the power of accuracy to shoot and spot from up high to hold own GKs even at super shots.

She doesn’t have to be that tall like Donnell or Grace Nweke; it’s all about timing and Sophia did that beautifully where the circle was hers to take home tonight away from home at TSB Arena.

Here’s another Mystics product also shined a light tonight was mid-counter Taylor Earle at centre & she just never stops delivering for the other shooters to clutch in goal after goal including some two pointers. No wonder she’s been doing that all time at a top-winning group like the Mystics who is still by far the team to beat in this ANZP after Round 5 out of 10.

Meanwhile, Pulse looked one-dimensional when they know how to get the ball rolling but then lost their way in between and later ran out of ideas – just like the equivalent Hurricanes in Super Rugby with the Qualifying Final last night v Brumbies.

Not only that some of their selections looked out of place when some of the subs deserved better like Amorangi Malesala and ex-Diamond Gabi Simpson – both of whom with previous Super Netball experience btw, didn’t know that as well.

If one had to win alone, gotta be Gabi having kept guard as part of the Pulse’s good restart momentum in between goal defense and wing defense – even though this match wasn’t completely out of reach at the time. But since no one else were able to close in, Pulse were simply not up to it and not winning at least 1-2 quarters is just a wake up call if they want to win back the ANZP later this year off Mystics.

For now, Mystics too good over Pulse once again like it was before & we never know if they will be back to see each other should this next contest be an upcoming big Final following a clear 13 goal margin by 51-64.

There’s Stars v Magic again for the second straight week tomorrow night but in reverse in Auckland and yes, so close from the Steel who fell short yesterday afternoon to the Tactix by eight goals. Looks like the battle for 3rd is heating up and now it all depends if Tactix can keep this winning form up or it will be Steel’s turn this year – at least Steel ain’t gonna finish last this time and also great to see Silver Ferns mid-courter Kate Heffernan back for a bit from knee injury.

June 8, 2025 0 comment

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2025 ANZ Premiership Round 4 of 10: Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic secured their first win of the season v Stars by 72-51

by Sports Benches June 2, 2025

Saviour Tui loves scoring goals for fun at goal shoot – always say that when I started following Netball again just a year ago which was simply outstanding.

Since she was there in the week-long training camp to Sydney for the Ferns earlier this year, let’s hope Dame Noeline Taurua can consider Tui later this year.

Standing next to Tui was always consistent & already Silver Fern (even though she’s Aussie!) Claire O’Brien within the Magic squad at Wing Attack who is always constantly involved running to and back with feeds after feeds that got the best of Ameliaranne Ekenasio and tonight’s outstanding goal scorer in Tui.

All in all, it was an encouraging win tonight by Magic making the most out of their chances even though they weren’t at their best. Again, they took advantage of the Stars poor defensive record where their Magic shooters went the distance, having won most of the Quarters except the third.

And MRB short for Mila Relelu-Buchanan did the best she could at the heart of the Stars mid-court engine with okay first 15 followed by a good 3rd quarter alone.

It’s a pity Stars couldn’t connect or were inconsistent at times that can be so frustrating especially when they’ve lost a couple of players in recent times to unfortunately injury. All the Stars can do now is regroup, learn and even though reaching Top 3 may be a tough ask but they have the Magic again this time as the home team same time & day next week.

Final score was 72-51 with the Magic’s first win of 2025 on home front at Globox Arena in Hamilton after Week 4 of 10.

Happening elsewhere, Central Pulse too good for the Southern Steel yesterday afternoon by 70-45 in Invercargill. For the Steel, it wasn’t an easy game as always when they were up against one of the Top 2 teams who were more than certainly bound to end up being Top 2.

And shoutout to veteran goal defender Casey Kopua (nee Williams), who came out of retirement the other day after six years, as an injury replacement for Jodi-Ann Ward at the Giants also in Sydney.

She’s nearly 40 just like former Fern and current Assistant Coach to Wendy at the Steel in Liana Leota where she also came out of retirement albeit for a few mins off the bench when a few of the current players were sidelined back in Round 1.

A sign of the times maybe or maybe not? when their times usually belong to ones present – we’ll see and Casey did play for some time yesterday v the Melbourne Vixens even though Giants lost by 61-71.

June 2, 2025 0 comment

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2025 ANZ Premiership Round 3: Mystics stay unbeaten after they lock up Steel at the last minute by a goal difference: 54-55

by Sports Benches May 26, 2025

Versatile experienced shooters and even attackers Filda Vui and Peta Toeava worked wonders that was enough for the Mystics to bump off Steel at the finish line by just a mere one goal difference: 54-55.

Vui can play in any goal circle position even goal shoot despite her lack of 6ft height & so does Toeava also despite lack of height who always know how to bridge those bombs at attacking channels that help Mystics sink in goals at wing attack.

Toeava even played GA for a bit towards the end with Vui upfront when Donnell Wallam had to come off due to a wrist injury (don’t know when, likely to be out of the season) as super shots a necessary requirement now in ANZP. But hey, that seemed to have made the trick indeed – something no one else does bar Mystics.

Meanwhile, Steel unlucky off the back of a flying start where it could’ve been theirs to win if it wasn’t for that poor 3rd quarter run when they oh so close from behind, particularly within the final 15 mins.

That doesn’t mean they are a bad team like 2023 & 2024 and Steel is fortunate enough to have Kimiora Poi inject that dynamic mid-court energy at Centre where her own shooting team of Georgia Heffernan and Aliyah Dunn gets the job done alongside former Mystic Carys Stythe providing that tough hands grab at GK with assistance from her youngsters.

Wait till Kate H comes back from injury hopefully sooner than later so she and Poi can be at their absolute best likewise at International level with the Ferns.

Again, Steel still tipped as outside finalists instead of say the Tactix from last season.

May 26, 2025 0 comment

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2025 ANZ Premiership Season Round 2, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic v Southern Steel: Too good from Steel to hit the winning front way past the Magic by 28 goals, 41-69

by Sports Benches May 19, 2025

Great to see the Southern Steel back on the winning front – looks good on paper potentially end up Top 3 & playing Finals for a shot at the Grand Final following a huge rebuild in the off-season, we’ll see.

Magic, meanwhile, have a lot of work to do who were caught off-guard unfortunately with a lot of mistakes left, right & centre by surprise, very disappointing indeed.

Final score was 41-69 to Steel over Magic away from home in Hamilton.

Top 3 players

Easy to say Aliyah Dunn shooting goals has done it with perfection having returned to the Steel this year as a better player. No doubt her experience playing Finals before with the Pulse and Tactix along with her impressive natural shooting game skillset will continue to help Steel win games on the front foot.

Same with also another ex-Tactix player who just joined the Steel is Kimiora Poi running the mid-court engine in between channels. Doesn’t matter what position she plays or wants to play whether if it’s C or Wing Attack but Poi is here for the vision club legend Wendy Frew wants to build so they can reclaim its former glory over time as the Steel’s new head coach.

Lastly, don’t know or don’t have much to say other than the Magic not being on par at all with the Steel tonight. There were lots of wrong calls, gaining turnovers, poor passing/passage of play & ill-discipline – you name it with no cohesion to rattle the Steel’s territory that goes from A to Z.

If one was to win over 7-10 odd players tonight, I’d say Claire O’Brien at Wing Attack – don’t know why she was hauled off the court following a tough 1st 15 mins when she was running around except no one was really there to help her which went worse and worse from there. Mind you, she is someone who gained some Silver Ferns experience at the back end of last year and for her to come back on when Magic know the game was already gone, it’s just not right.

Reminds me of Maddie Hay from the Giants who also plays in the same spot as Claire (also a former Giant and Swifts player via her country of birth – Australia) during yesterday’s afternoon match v Grace Nweke’s Swifts team in Super Netball when Giants were on par in the first half but when Maddy H was being subbed, it was a horror show past the end without her – that’s that.

May 19, 2025 0 comment

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2025 ANZ Premiership Round 1: Mainland Tactix pulled off final quarter shootout to see out win over Southern Steel

by Sports Benches May 11, 2025

1 week done, 9 more to go plus two extra when it comes to the Finals in this brand-new ANZ Premiership Season for 2025.

Both Tactix and Steel were side-by-side for the most part even though Steel lacked some quality due to injury. But what made one team stood out over the other was the use of subs as well as those tactics/game-plan where one could not see this coming.

What that said, Tactix came from behind by a single goal (26-27) at half-time to closing out on what has been a triumphant victory in front of their home fans, 57-50.

Happening Elsewhere

While the Pulse were comprehensive over the Magic (57-44) yesterday, Mystics also off to a flying start from earlier this afternoon over fellow Auckland side in the Stars (55-71). Gotta feel for those three Stars players being shot down due to injury unfortunately in Kate Burley, Greer Sinclair and Charlie Bell. Don’t know what else to say as this reminds me with Mila Relelu-Buchanan last year when she had a knee injury of her own that took many months to recover from her ACL before she was able to return at the start of this year.

And over in Australia’s Super Netball, glad to see the Swifts still unbeaten who has just wrote off the Melbourne Vixens but not so much for the Giants v SC Lightning.

Yes, Giants did win v Adelaide Thunderbirds last week but maybe T-Birds might’ve had some of their own injury issues & Giants took advantage of it.

Top 3 players

Take a bow Martina Salmon! Yes, she may not have been given the starting nod over Ellie Bird. But hey, her presence within the circle as goal shoot changed everything that the Steel couldn’t stop off-guard including that stunning two-point shot.

If one sub wasn’t enough that turned up the heat for the Tactix, especially when playing at home – how about another in Parris Petera at Wing Attack?

She and Salmon just came over from the Central Pulse btw where Petera & Salmon understood each other and you just cannot underestimate the way Tactix funnelled their passage of play.

They were relived to put this into bed with the good use of the Tactix’s stronghold bench by Donna Wilkins following a competive 2/3rds of tonight’s game that turned into a comfortable last quarter.

Carys Stythe – she has sure tightened up the Southern Steel defense as the mainstay GK now from the championship-winning Mystics. Her towering presence provided real frustration at times to the Tactix where Stythe’s new team gave themselves breathing room to stay on top of things as said with a robust squad that Wendy Frew added in the off-season.

Shoutout also to Liana Leota who just had played a bit of game time in a long time actually even though her main role is to be No.2 assistant coach to Frew. But the only reason why she was there because Steel were short-staffed due to injuries such as the one of the other co-captains in Kate Heffernan.

Although Steel’s boost of quality players has given themselves a fair fight along the way as sure we will that continue – fingers crossed with the group fully fit to take on the rest of this ANZP comp. Unfortunately, they’ve just lacked the right calls as well as the necessary experience required to close out games strong.

May 11, 2025 0 comment

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Tennis x Sports Crossover at the 2025 Australian Open: Super Rugby, All Blacks & Wallabies preview along with Netball in New Zealand and Jack Doohan under pressure for only the first six races in Formula 1 at Alpine-Renault

by Sports Benches January 19, 2025

And last but not least, how about we give a shoutout to two Wallabies stars Harry Wilson (Queensland Reds) and Max Jorgensen (NSW Waratahs), who were both in attendance at Melbourne Park this weekend to cheer on Alex De Minaur.

Yet, the Demon did win after all to play in the 4th round for the 4th straight year of his AO men’s singles career.

It was also nice seeing Harry and Max lend over that Wallabies green and gold jersey to Alex and look at him go! – How good!

Rugby Union

We first have a jam-pack year of Rugby ahead of us with the 11-team Super Rugby competition set to start in a month’s time before the British and Irish Lions arrive at our own backyard during winter. Plus, there’s Club Rugby at the same, the Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup in August-September, and we finish off the year in Europe v the North’s best sides on earth.

First of all, it’s been a bitter blow not seeing Melbourne field a Rugby team anymore in the Rebels when they are a big sporting city due to financial problems. But with lots of people playing AFL (Aussie Rules) and even NRL (Rugby League), it seems there’s no room for Rugby to succeed in that place unfortunately.

Now we are down to four teams with the Western Force still around & as we all know the ACT Brumbies would love to finally play in a Grand Final. However, we would need the Tahs, Reds or even Force to be playing in the semis either way in order for the Wallabies to succeed & that includes the Brumbies. It’s never been a better time to try taking that advantage now, especially with Joseph Suaalii onboard from the Sydney Roosters (NRL) to the Waratahs.

Other than that, the NZ teams will still be dominating for the most part along with a new-look Crusaders, even though the All Blacks had their bad times last season when it comes to the Springboks and France.

Netball

If Rugby isn’t big enough for NZ, why not Netball when they also have a huge year ahead?

The Silver Ferns will be stopping by in Sydney soon to spend nine days there as part of their training camp including a Practice Match v the NSW Swifts featuring the Ferns former star shooter (for now) Grace Nweke on Sunday, February 2.

They will also have a slightly different ANZ Premiership season amongst half of the six teams having brand new coaches (Mainland Tactix, Southern Steel and Northern Stars) between May-July including Finals with a two-round home-and-away format across 10-12 weeks rather than playing three times last year.

Yes, the Ferns haven’t organised any matches lined-up yet for the second half season but we are still expected to see the Taini Jamison Trophy series back regardless of opponent. Although England have won it last year but the good news is that they will be able to defend the Constellation Cup v the Aussie Diamonds following their 3-1 series win back in late October.

And shoutout to former Silver Fern and current GWS Giants (Western Sydney) player Gina Crampton who plays at Wing Attack and was also in attendance from the stands for Alex De Minaur’s game yesterday – sure she still has plenty to offer at age 33, especially playing against the best in Super Netball.

Formula 1

What else? Rugby & Netball isn’t the only sport who mix and matches well with Tennis.

I also wish Alpine-Renault’s Jack Doohan from Formula 1 was there to see Alex also because they do look like each other with both of them having a smiley face personality. Surely, Jack can get some tips on defying those odds from Alex when there’s a bunch of reverse drivers waiting in his wings under pressure including Franco Colapinto. Alex did beat another Argentine actually yesterday too in Francisco Cerundolo; hopefully, this will cheer Jack up in a bid to keep his seat over the first six odd races of the season.

Although I can understand Jack is more aligned with Ayrna Sabalenka because she visited his team’s garage in his unexpected F1 debut last month at Abu Dhabi & Jack came back in return for Ayrna when she played a match a few weeks ago at the Brisbane International.

Post-Notes

Can’t believe there’s a whole lot of other athletes watching for fun there rather than looking to go toe-to-toe with the pro Tennis players & see who’s better?

Time will tell.

January 19, 2025 0 comment

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A look back on 2024 Fast5 Netball from last weekend and a huge year from Silver Ferns and Netball New Zealand going into 2025

by Sports Benches November 14, 2024

International Netball may be over for now in 2024 but at least we witnessed such a stunning and a bit controversial Fast5 Netball tournament from Christchurch last weekend with the Aussies being crowned champions yet again.

Yes, we had another Trans-Tasman rivalry this time at when both sides advanced into the Cup final beforehand knowing NZ have already beaten Australia several times recently when it comes to the standard version of the game in the Constellation Cup.

NZ were off to good start particularly for most of the first half ahead of the break by nine goals (14-23), but then they’ve lost their way unfortunately whilst leading in the latter stages that allowed Australia to play catch up before they stole the show towards the end by a close four goal gap (34-30) at full-time.

You just never know what could happen in this fast-paced netball format, especially when making the most out of these powerplay features just within that circle line every time it’s active minutes before the end of each quarter – congratulations to the Aussies with the Fast5 championship win for yet another year in 2024.

For now, I guess there won’t be January netball with the Nations Cup over in England. The hosts decided to do things differently right now with a four-match series against Jamaica starting this weekend where the first two games will be at home and the last two being away to the Caribbean much like our Constellation Cup Series with the Diamonds and Silver Ferns.

Although there might still be a possibility of Ferns going to play in Fiji instead alongside the Diamonds, we’ll have to wait and see for that one. For now, it’s been a big year for NZ Netball in 2024 from the Northern Mystics retaining their ANZ Premiership title over their one-goal grand final win v Central Pulse to losing 2-1 v England and now recently won the Trans-Tasman battle including a historic Game 3 away win v Diamonds to reclaim the series trophy.

2025 will be much different though when the Ferns won’t be able to use the services of their star goal shooter Grace Nweke who is now in Sydney to test herself in Super Netball for the NSW Swifts. Let’s hope this will last for at least one season if not two ahead of the 2027 World Cup & who knows if NZ will get their way into Aussie shores at some point once again when it comes to their Trans-Tasman opportunities at Domestic level.

I’d personally like to see a bit more exposure for foreign players coming there (i.e. 2-3 players than 1) that will help improve the current and future Ferns players just like the Aussies have done to them recently by coming over for more game time. But again, we still don’t know what the long-term framework will look like for Netball NZ including their next TV deal from 2026.

And last but not least, it’s been also good looking at Netball once again after being in and out over the past few years – can’t wait to watch this all over again in 2025.

November 14, 2024 0 comment

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2024 Constellation Cup Game 1: Silver Ferns too good to begin the four-game series by 14 goals over the Aussie Diamonds in Wellington

by Sports Benches October 20, 2024

So there you have it, the Silver Ferns are on a roll to kickstart the 2024 Constellation Cup Series with a win on home soil at TSB Arena in Wellington. Not only the Ferns got away with a tight first quarter but they too were so dominant in the 2nd 15 going into half-time by nine goals over the Aussie Diamonds at half-time (34-25).

Yes, the Diamonds did play catch-up having won the third quarter alone as they were only seven goals behind (47-40) at three quarter time. But at the end of the day, it was barely even enough to steer the ship for the Diamonds as the Ferns kept on extending their lead thanks to a formula that was simply just fine like it was in the dead rubber 3rd Test win v England.

Although Head Coach Dame Noelene Taurua was happy enough to make these late changes off the bench when she had nothing left to lose as the clock ticks down. She couldn’t be more prouder than that to see her Ferns side win by a comfortable 14-goal win (60-54) with 1-0 up in the series as there’s three more games to go in this Trans-Tasman contest.

First things first, let’s start with Kate Heffernan who was brought back into the Silver Ferns starting line up tonight at Wing Defense. Not only she was outstanding mainly in defense but also restarted well in attack every time she has the ball. That’s all you need to know about Kate as this has been her best game tonight and also coming from her best position too, especially when you got her new Steel (and also current Ferns) team-mate Kimiora Poi coming over next season – another plus too for Southland. Yes, we wished Kate would put in the exact same shift when the Ferns recently played v England. But class is permanent & she wants to keep on going until Kate is happy what she wants such as the series trophy.

Next up is Maddy Gordon in the middle of the Ferns engine as she never disappoints every time on-court like imagine if she gets to play Super Netball but still allowed to play for her country? She would’ve helped them retain the Taini Jamison Trophy. But still long way to go though at present with the Constellation Cup & what Maddy wants to do now is keep that good form up for Game 2 on Wednesday (Auckland) before all in & hope she can help bring home that Trans-Tasman series trophy. For now, she worked really well like the read/communication that got the best out of the Ferns front two in Ameliaranne Ekenasio (Goal Attack) & Grace Nweke (Goal Shooter) – even from long range like a rocket as seen with the Central Pulse.

And Sarah Klau did the best she can in a Diamonds shirt when she came on for Jo Weston at goal defense. She’s so important when needed in both crucial defensive positions as seen with the NSW Swifts, having denied the Ferns some attacking opportunities along the way while winning that 3rd quarter win alone. If she started this match then that might have added some more confidence considering she’s has a plethora of experience in a championship-winning side before. It’s a shame that the Diamonds attack looked bereft unfortunately tonight, particularly with their mid-court & front two. Still more time to turn things around as they’re not panicking just yet with three games to go.

October 20, 2024 0 comment

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2024 Taini Jamison Trophy: Silver Ferns bounce back even they kept their starting 7 throughout the full hour with the late win

by Sports Benches October 6, 2024

The Silver Ferns may not have come here tonight for the Taini Jamison Trophy since the series has already been decided the other day to the England Roses. However, they have at least something to offer ahead of the upcoming four-game Constellation Cup series later month following their five goal win in Invercargill by 61-56. They’ve won most quarters other than the 3rd with the four-goal lead from half-time where the Ferns still struggled at times such as ball retention, etc.

Also, coach Dame Noeline Taurua may not had made any changes – despite leading by a few goals when she could’ve just make 1-2 late fresh faces as if it was a practice game ahead of the Trans-Tasman series. But again, a win is a win after all to finish things off on a high.

The Constellation Cup will begin two weeks from now on Sunday 20th October in Wellington followed by Auckland for Game 2 a few days later on Wednesday 23rd October. Then they will fly out to Australia to compete another two games there also Sunday 27th October in Perth and Wednesday 30th October in Melbourne to finish off the 2024 season.

Kelly Jackson, take a bow!! as She has been the Great Wall keeper of the Silver Ferns defensive back three after an outstanding performance tonight to shut down the England Roses pair of Helen Housby and Liv Tchine. She never disappoints every time she stars on-court at all levels including the highest Internationally. Also, she’s got her Central Pulse team-mate Parris Mason by her side including Maddy Gordon, who fortunately didn’t get hauled off this time at Centre which was good to see. No doubt we will see more of this trio later this month when they will take on the Aussie Diamonds.

Next up is the Silver Ferns Captain and veteran goal attack specalist Ameliaranne Ekenasio, having barely looked out of place as always alongside sharp shooter Grace Nweke in the Ferns attacking front two. She got away with 13 out of 14 shots at a total of 93% where she credits a functional mid-court pack that got the best out of her and Grace. They were able to help the Ferns win most of the quarters other than the 3rd part, which still needs some work as it’s something the Ferns need to work next time when they will take on the Aussie Diamonds. But other than that, a win is a win after all – despite not able to retain the Taini Jamison Trophy.

And last but not least, Liv Tchine’s stock is rising as England’s mainstay goal shooter at 22 years of age. She’s been making waves before at Domestic level with London Pulse in the Netball Superleague & Liv does not disappoint at all in the England Roses thanks to the likes of NSW Swifts star Helen Housby & another youngster Lois Pearson around her. Yes, Game 3 may have been a dead rubber when their back and mid-court areas might not have quite gelled as they would’ve like – especially when the Roses were chopping and changing with their bench while seeing a couple of new players getting tested here. But at least Liv knows where the net is and she’s loves doing this for fun as congratulations with the series win & sure we’ll hear more from her next time including Super Netball in Australia if she wants to test herself at the highest of levels at some point.

October 6, 2024 0 comment

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Netball: England Roses too good over the Ferns in Game 2 by four goals that was enough to clinch the Taini Jaimson Trophy Series with one game to spare this Sunday

by Sports Benches October 2, 2024

So there you have it, England have not only won Game 2 but also the Taini Jamison Trophy series at Te Rauparaha Arena with one game left going into this Sunday in Invercargill. Silver Ferns as we know it were always effective with their good starts having won the first quarter alone (16-13) followed by the first half (28-27). Then England began to flip the script when they were leading by a good gap of 4-8 goals, Although the Ferns did the best they can that late to stop the trophy from leaving its own shores. But at the end of the day, too good from England who were very certain to win this game once again by four goals (55-59) on top of a nail-biter Game 1 the other day (58-59).

How can you not ignore Lois Pearson when she was an excellent support player to the England Roses front two tonight at Wing Attack? She’s got all sorts of running athleticism and the range of passing needed to help find her shooters in Helen Housby and Liv Tchine as well as being sound in defense thanks to the Ferns huge weakness through the mid-court. It turns out the Roses were leading so comfortably by a few goals while the game goes on, particularly throughout the 2nd half and yet Lois couldn’t go any wrong off the back of her excellent season both Domestic & Internationally. Keep a good eye on her over the next coming years as she will keep on getting better with age as being part of a winning series is a great first step & who knows if she’ll be willing to play in Australia’s Super Netball later on.

Here’s another England Roses player that also made a huge difference to stay well ahead of the Silver Ferns and it’s Beth Cobden who came on as reserve at Wing Defense. She brings a wealth of experience to the national setup, having kept a great eye on the Ferns mid-court area & Beth helped taken advantage of their errors with great hands. Goes to show she’s always needed when she’s ready even when Beth is also good with leadership around such a young and talented squad. Looks like she isn’t done just yet so she can make sure the Roses can be on top every time, next time – just like that series win tonight in Game No.2.

And Maddy Gordon was the one the Silver Ferns have been so desperate to stop the Roses in their tracks through the middle at centre thanks to the Ferns’ fast start and late comeback bid. Okay, as we all know, she was injured earlier this season and had to be on managed minutes on her way back on-court. But that doesn’t mean this can apply the same at International level and what happened without Maddy is that the Ferns weren’t simply dynamic as the Roses beyond the back defensive three & unfortunately, they left it too late when it comes to poor selection + chopping & changing tactics. They will have to wait next year to get that Taini Jamison Trophy back but they have to use Game 3 now as a practice match for the Constellation Cup v the Aussie Diamonds later this month.

October 2, 2024 0 comment