Every week in the Suncorp Super Netball League (SSN) a team has come out and surprised us, causing upset and making sure the Finalists are not yet locked in; this week it was the turn of Firebirds.
Firebirds, who have been struggling at the bottom of the table all season with just two wins to their name, took on then 2nd place Fever this weekend, and it was a result few would’ve predicted.
Live on NetballPass, bottom of the table Firebirds grew into their game against Fever, drawing the first quarter before going on to win the next three and eventually the game 78-70.
Firebirds biggest quarter was the 3rd which they won 16-12, as their Australian Diamond Goal Shooter Donnell Wallam remained clinical under post gaining 105.5 Nissan Net Points as she scored 48/53 shots and 9/14 Super Shots.
This sees Wallam sit 2nd in the seasons goals scored charts, only behind their Round 11 oppositions Jamaican Sunshine Girl Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard.
Unfortunately for Fever they had to pay the price for this loss, as Thunderbirds went on to beat Mavericks on Saturday evening 67-41, a win which boosted their goal percentage enough that Thunderbirds could force Fever into 3rd, whilst taking their 2nd place spot.
In the second half of their game, live on NetballPass, Thunderbirds managed to keep Mavericks to just 16 goals, with Australian Diamond Matilda Garrett and Jamaican Sunshine Girl Shamera Sterling-Humphrey untouchable.
Sterling-Humphrey made an incredible six interceptions, which sees her sit top of the intercepts charts this season with 39 to her name, closely followed by her domestic and international teammate, Latanya Wilson, who sits in 2nd with 38.
Despite Thunderbirds big win, they still haven’t yet reached the summit of the table with Vixen’s leading the way having only lost one game all season.
Vixen’s continued their winning streak, live on NetballPass, in Round 11 against NSW Swifts, who they managed to stop reaching the 50 goals mark.
The addition of Tonga Tala Uneeq Palavi to the Swifts line-up did make a difference as she acted as a real playmaker when given the opportunity in the centre court, however, Vixen’s just seemed to have an answer for everything constantly adapting the coming out stronger each quarter.
In what was a full team performance, full of offensive and defensive pressure, Vixens went on to win 69-49 keeping that top spot.
At the other end of the table, things aren’t looking so bright for Giants who found themselves bottom of the table at the conclusion of Round 11 following their defeat to Lightning.
In what was extremely close contest Giants will be gutted they did not take anything from this match, in which their second quarter performance let them down.
Giants won 3 out of 4 of the quarters marginally, but lost the second period 23-12, a deficit which they were never quite able to bounce back from.
Ashleigh Ervin, who was part of last year’s Australian FAST NWS winning team, was just one player that caused Giants real issues in the first half, as she made five intercepts and three deflections in this 30-minute period alone.
To catch up on this young Diamonds performance, head to NetballPass now.
To view all the results, the current table, and read our International Player Watch preview, visit our SSN page here.