Sunday night’s win was a relief for passionate Wildcats coach Megan Lynch, who asked her players to play with freedom and enjoy their netball.
“I’m so proud of them, and they led from start to finish which was amazing,” Lynch said.
“The first half was outstanding. Everyone did what we talked about during the week.”
Lynch highlighted the seamless inclusion of Queensland Firebird Ash Unie into the side, in a rare appearance as the Wildcats’ draft selection for 2023.
“It was really nice having Ash Unie there,” Lynch said.
“I played her for three quarters and she was just part of the team, did her job, nothing flashy.”
The Wildcats have been working on stringing together a consistent four-quarter performance, by improving their ability to make right decisions at critical moments.
“I reckon we played 45 to 50 minutes of really good netball,” Lynch said.
“Kayla Anderson was outstanding at goal attack. It’s the first time she’s played a full 60 minutes at Sapphire level. Coco Smith was outstanding again. Georgia Feeney was excellent again at GK tonight. We’ve got the best culture, the best girls. Everyone is so positive.”
The Thunder were without two of their regular players, who were called up to Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) duties for the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
It’s straight to the top of the ladder for the TAE Aerospace Jets following a comprehensive 75-45 victory over the Bond University Bull Sharks.
Jets coach Paula Stuart prepared for the clash, knowing captain Hulita Veve would be restricted to two quarters of netball after her impressive performance as a temporary replacement player during the Queensland Firebirds’ SSN victory over the Collingwood Magpies just over 24 hours earlier.
“Seeing her out on court for the Firebirds, I was holding back tears,” Stuart said.
“I was hoping she’d do well, and she did better than well. She changed the game.”
Veve started for the Jets, who took the first quarter against the Bull Sharks 18-13 before significantly increasing that margin by half-time which allowed Stuart to run all players.
“What worked for us was having the head smarts and experience of when to inject,” Stuart said.
“We let the ball do the work and played with our heads, not our feet, so there were a lot of fakes and prelims.”
Jets goal defender Danielle Taylor twisted her knee in the first quarter and did not return to the court, but is expected to be fit for this weekend’s round four double-header.
The ACU Brisbane North Cougars’ unbeaten run, stretching more than two seasons, has ended at the hands of the Gold Coast Titans who recorded a 63-58 victory over the defending premiers.
The score was tight heading into the final quarter, with the Cougars behind by just a single goal (45-44).
“We always expected a tough game and our combinations were going to be tested,” Cougars coach Liz White said.
“We responded at times but at other times we fell away. We didn’t adjust but it’s a good learning opportunity. We lost because we made dumb mistakes under pressure when we needed to concentrate.”
HART Sapphire Series action will be double the fun this weekend, with many of the teams to play twice.
Round four on Saturday sees all sides, with the exception of the Bull Sharks on a bye, lining up from 6pm at Nissan Arena.
Sunday’s round five fixture takes netball across the southeast, with the first game being the Thunder hosting the Bull Sharks from 4.30pm at UNISC Arena.
The draw for the 2023 HART Sapphire Series is available here.
KOMMUNITY TV
Round 4, May 13
TAE Jets v SC Thunder (4pm Ruby, 6pm Sapphire)
Round 5, May 14
SC Thunder v Bond University (4:30pm Sapphire, 6:30pm Ruby)
(Photo credit: KWP Studios Flagstone)
