Injuries, the big three, true grit and those fading stars
With the ANZ Premiership nearly at its midway point, Brendon Egan looks at five key topics through six rounds of the competition.
Is it merely bad luck or something more concerning? Injuries have always been a part of elite netball, but this season the injury rate feels higher. Maybe it is the calibre of the players who have been struck down which has heightened the issue.
Silver Ferns stars Grace Nweke (knee) and Maddy Gordon (ankle) are two of the most high-profile players on the sidelines. Gordon will miss most of the competition, with the Pulse optimistic she might be back for their final home game in late July.
Then there is fellow Fern Amelia Walmsley (knee), and veteran midcourter Shannon Saunders, who will miss the rest of the competition after a knee injury she had been nursing from pre-season was worse than initially feared.
Other top players, including Tactix shooter Aliyah Dunn (knee) and Pulse goal attack Tiana Metuarau (foot), are yet to feature this season as they work their way back from injury.
The injuries have provided opportunities for players who would not have expected huge minutes to test themselves.
Not seeing the best players in the country competing each week is a blow for the competition. None of the injuries were loading-related (too much time on court through games and training).
“It’s something we’re watching and being mindful around how do we rehab the ones that need it and do it well and protect the ones that are still out there on the court and make sure they’re minimising any potential injuries moving forward,” Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie said this week.
Have the three finalists in the ANZ Premiership already been found?
Not quite, but it’s quickly starting to look that way. With nine round games left for each side there is still sufficient time, but the Pulse (who are unbeaten), Tactix and Mystics are beginning to pull clear on the points table. The gap between the thirdplaced Mystics and fourth-placed Magic is seven points, which equates to two wins, plus a bonus point (loss within one to five goals).
Another loss for the Magic, Stars and Steel this weekend and their finals hopes would take a huge hit.
There’s a couple of contenders, but it would be hard to go past Pulse captain
Kelly Jackson. The Silver Ferns defender is sporting a new surname after her marriage in the off-season, but is making just as much impact as she did under her maiden name, Jury.
Jackson sits atop all the major defensive metrics, leading the competition for intercepts (19; first equal with the Magic’s Georgia Takarangi), defensive rebounds (15) and deflections (30).
Jackson’s Pulse team-mate Whitney Souness, Tactix captain Kimiora Poi, and Tactix defensive duo Karin Burger and Jane Watson have been other standouts.
The south Auckland-based Stars would have entered 2024 with plenty of hope.
Rightly so too after they made it to the grand final last season, losing to the crosstown Mystics.
With the off-season signing of Australian-raised
Rahni Samason and Kate Burley moving from the Steel, the Stars would have been bullish about their title hopes.
Samason has been a non-factor, playing just 52 minutes across six matches, landing 17 goals from 28 attempts at 60%.
The Stars are the worst defensive team in the competition through six weeks, giving up 346 goals (58 per game). They are scoring 53 per outing.
Credit where credit is due. When Nweke succumbed to a knee injury in the final quarter of the Mystics’ round-three loss to the Tactix, most would have expected the defending champions to implode.
Nweke is expected to miss at least another month after straining the patella tendon in her right knee.
Thankfully for Mystics fans, coach Tia Winikerei and her side have come up with a game plan to combat their superstar shooter’s absence, which they are executing.
Shooters Hannah Glen, herself coming back from a serious knee injury last season, and Filda Vui have been superb. Their main feeders, Peta Toeava and Tayla Earle, have led the way too, supplying Glen and Vui with accurate ball.
The Mystics have won their last two matches with Nweke watching from the bench, which is a major boon to their finals aspirations.