It was always going to be this way. From the moment it was revealed how the 2019 Super Netball season would be structured to accommodate July’s World Cup , it was inevitable certain individual performances would be viewed through the prism of the global tournament.
The quadrennial World Cup, to be held in Liverpool, is one of netball’s pinnacle events and its spectre has loomed large over the world’s best league since round one. The season will pause after round nine is complete on 23 June and re-start on 27 July for five more rounds, before finals.
Historically, the elite domestic competition has been moved forward or back to make room, so when it was announced last year, the unorthodox format prompted many questions and quandaries.
Would an Australian star or any of the internationals who play in the league, from New Zealand, England, Jamaica, Uganda, Trinidad or South Africa, injure themselves pre-Cup and ruin their nation’s chances?
Would the measly six-day break between the final day of competition in the UK and round 10 hurt one franchise more than another? What about the psychological weight of potentially losing the final and having to front up for domestic duties for the rest of the season?
Would players be rested before or after, with an impact on results? Or would players pick up season-ending injuries in Liverpool?
The constant speculating has been the underlying theme of the season. And never has the shadow of the World Cup been longer than in round six last weekend, which began 48 hours after the Diamonds squad was revealed by coach Lisa Alexander.
Looking through an Australian lens, it was impossible to miss three scintillating individual performances – from Firebird Gabi Simpson and Vixens Emily Mannix and Kate Moloney, who all missed out – which could comfortably be filed under “How do you like me, now?”.
Standout games from another Firebird, the polarising Gretel Tippett, and NSW Swifts duo Sarah Klau and Paige Hadley should have silenced any doubters questioning their inclusion. And less-than-stellar minutes from Magpies Ash Brazill and Kim Ravaillion in their side’s 68-52 thrashing by the Swifts might just have validated their exclusion.
The biggest shock of the squad announcement was the dropping of Simpson, who was vice-captain in the Diamonds’ most recent Quad Series. Most pundits had her in the 12, despite a few niggling injuries, but on Thursday, her name was missing, with Alexander favouring Jamie Lee Price.
Simpson, however, wasn’t missing on the stats sheet for her side’s 62-all draw with the West Coast Fever in Brisbane on Saturday night. A clearly fired-up Simpson, already one of the game’s most animated characters, looked like a woman on a mission from the first whistle.
The 26-year-old played every minute, picked off three intercepts and affected three deflections which resulted in a gain. She also didn’t give away a single obstruction, impressive for a wing defence. The 40-Test veteran was instrumental in getting her injury-ravaged and winless side the draw.
While the game was drawn, the Firebirds walked away with four points; two bonus points for winning the first and last quarters and two premiership points for the draw. The Fever got three, after winning just one quarter. It’s believed to be the first time a side has “won” a draw, points-wise, in Super Netball.
Also on Saturday, Vixens goal keeper Mannix, who was overlooked in favour of 24-year-old Klau, and her captain Moloney, who didn’t make the cut in the midcourt, shone in their side’s 62-52 win over the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Queensland.
Mannix started on Ugandan Peace Proscovia and had two important intercepts before the main break, by which time the Lightning import was benched.
Also a member of the most recent Quad Series squad and seen as an understudy for Courtney Bruce, Mannix recorded two deflections resulting in a gain and a rebound and only had one obstruction. She was instrumental in causing several held balls, working seamlessly with Jo Weston.
Moloney, playing on Kiwi superstar Laura Langman in her 200th match, had 27 feeds and 20 goal assists, but it was her defensive pressure, which netted two intercepts and caused five general play turnovers from Langman, that stood out. Her lead-from-the-front style also played a key role in the win.
Putting their names on the “well and truly justified their inclusion” list were Tippett and Klau – both named MVPs in their matches – and Hadley.
In her side’s draw with the Fever, Tippett continued her extraordinary run of form, shooting 35 from 36 to take her season tally to 192 from 196, for a mind-blowing 98% accuracy.
She was again the most accurate shooter across the competition for the round and continues to be unfazed by pairing with Abigail Latu-Meafou, who the Firebirds brought in just two weeks ago to cover for an injured Romelda Aiken. Surely the number of people doubting Tippett is dropping as her form trajectory goes in the opposite direction.
A clearly-elated Klau had her best game yet in the Swifts’ 16-goal win over Collingwood. She had a round-high four intercepts and affected three deflections which resulted in a gain. And she did it all while looking like she was having the time of her life.
With first-string Diamonds keeper Courtney Bruce appearing to re-injure her arm in the last quarter in Fever’s match against the Firebirds, Klau might be seeing more court time in Liverpool than many expected.
Her teammate Hadley swung between centre and wing attack in the Swifts’ thumping of Collingwood, but regardless of the bib, the result was the same – dominance. She had 42 feeds, 19 goal assists and a deflection. As the play maker and pace setter, Hadley worked in beautifully with Helen Housby, who dominated at goal attack.
Along with most of their teammates, Brazill and Ravaillion had games they’d rather forget against the Swifts as coach Rob Wright – like Kristy Keppich-Birrell before him – tried and failed to get a team of champions to beat what increasingly looks like a champion team in the Swifts.
Were their performances influenced by the disappointment of missing out? Do they now have something to prove? Will a long mid-season break do them the world of good? Will teammate Kelsey Browne star in Liverpool and come home revitalised?
Those questions – and yet many more – remain to be answered in season 2019; a season truly like no other.
