Round 8 Match Preview

Hayley Hamp

We’re half way through the season and head north to sunny Sunshine Coast to take on the Lightning in round eight. This weekend is also Indigenous round of Suncorp Super Netball and the players will be wearing dresses which match the AFL Indigenous Guernsey design, by Travis Varcoe’s sister in law.

Coming off an impressive derby win over the Vixens Monday, the team have had a quick turnaround before flying up north on Friday, before playing Saturday afternoon, live on Channel 9.

Our superstar foundation player, Kim Ravallion will play her 100^th national league game this weekend, which the team and coaching staff are extremely excited about.

Last time we met in round one, we held strong and finished with a 14 goal win over the reigning premiers on our home turf. However, since then the Lightning have only lost one game in round six against the Vixens, and as a result currently sit second on the ladder.

As we currently sit two points behind the top four, this weekend’s game is crucial for the team to come out on top of to keep their finals campaign alive. Every quarter and thus bonus point is crucial to put away and the team are motivated to get the job done.

Key match ups:

• April Brandley v Steph Wood: both experienced national and Australian Diamonds players, this matchup is one to watch. Both players know the other one’s style of play, so April will need to stick tight to Steph to ensure she doesn’t see much of the ball. April’s height over Steph will be an advantage to her, but once Steph has the ball in the shooting circle, she rarely misses a shot.
• Kim Ravallion v Laura Langman: although the New Zealand Silver Ferns star took a break from netball in 2018, the experienced player has hit the ground running in the 2019 season. Both Kim and Laura are fierce players, so we should expect to see a tough matchup if these two go head to head.
• Nat Medhurst v Karla Proscovia: Nat is one of our most strategic players, coming up against South African defender Karla, who has quickly become known as one of the best intercept defenders in the league. Nat will need to hold her ground and lead strong to ensure Karla’s hands see close to no ball.

ANL Round 7 – Storm

The Tasmanian Magpies play their last games of the regular season this weekend, heading north to Sunshine Coast also.

Game 1 – Saturday 15 June, 5.30pm USC

Game 2 – Sunday 16 June, 11am USC