Officials are scrambling to save the Super Netball competition after tough new Covid restrictions hit its South Australian hub.
Super Netball officials were on Monday night locked in talks to save the season after its hub site in South Australia imposed tough new restrictions including a ban on team sport.
The ban relates to community rather than professional sport but the Level 4 restrictions have thrown the future of the Adelaide hub into doubt, while the exposure of a Queensland Firebirds player to a Tier one site adding another layer of difficulty for league officials.
The regular season was set to finish in less than a fortnight under a condensed format but Adelaide’s restrictions have thrown a massive spanner into the works.
Queensland teams the Firebirds and Sunshine Coast Lightning played in Brisbane last night, with the Firebirds understrength after the forced quarantine of goaler Tippah Dwan, following her visit to a Melbourne coffee shop last week.
Dwan visited the site with a friend on the team’s day off last Wednesday while the Firebirds were hubbed in Melbourne ahead of their return to Brisbane the following day as Victoria prepared to head into lockdown.
She was informed on Sunday she had been linked to a tier one exposure site and while she returned a negative test, has been forced into home isolation for 14 days.
The Queensland derby was due to be held in Adelaide but the Queensland teams were denied entry to the state on Friday after South Australia tightened its border restrictions with the Sunshine State as its Covid situation worsened.
While that situation seemed to have been overcome and the teams were set to fly out on Tuesday to join the remaining six clubs in Adelaide, it’s now South Australia’s worsening Covid status that could be the trigger for yet another hub move.
Several scenarios were playing out last night including talk of a move back to Queensland.
The constant moves have been a financial disaster for Netball Australia, with the cost of constantly relocating the hub enormous.
New chief executive Kelly Ryan, who has not yet been in the job a fortnight, was again locked in meetings late last night to save the season.
Firebirds burn Lightning
Veteran goalder Romelda Aiken finished on one leg but has helped the Queensland Firebirds keep their Super Netball season alive with a 59-49 win over the Sunshine Coast Lightning in a brutal test of attrition.
Aiken was unable to put weight on her left ankle after a clash in the final quarter, but still contributed 40 goals to her team’s total as the Firebirds won a brutal derby to breathe new life into their finals chase.
Undermanned at the start of the match with Tippah Dwan (Covid isolation) and Tara Hinchliffe (knee) missing, the Firebirds headed into the match as underdogs, with the Lightning chasing top spot on the ladder with a win.
But the Lightning had injury woes of their own, finishing the game with a heavily depleted bench as stars Steph Wood (knee) and Laura Scherian (ankle) sat out the final stages and star shooter Cara Koenen (ankle) limped around the court.
After a thrilling opening three quarters, the Firebirds took a two-goal lead into the final term but turned on the afterburners to win by 10 points.
Queensland was able to control the tempo of the match, forcing the Lightning to play at great pace while controlling their turnovers and shooting at 85 per cent, with goaler Gretel Bueta winning player of the match honours for her mix of finesse and power in just her second full game of the season.
The form of Bueta and Kim Ravaillion, who have both returned following maternity leave breaks, is a boon for the Firebirds as they chase a win.
The Lightning took a two-goal lead to the first break after Koenen sank a buzzer-beating super shot to give the Lightning a 16-14 lead.
But it was the only period they won, with the Firebirds evening things up at halftime before pushing ahead slightly at the final break and running away with the game in the fourth quarter.
The match went ahead after all Firebirds players and staff tested negative for Covid following news Dwan had been at a tier one exposure site in Melbourne last week.
Injuries taking toll
The constant shuffle of the past few weeks is starting to take a physical toll on players, with both teams sporting injuries – both before and during the game.
The Firebirds started without vice-captain and goalkeeper Tara Hincliffe, who was on crutches with a knee injury and will undergo scans on Tuesday, while Romelda Aiken finished the game unable to support weight on her left ankle.
The Lightning were hammered in a physical game though, with high flyers Steph Wood (knee), Laura Scherian (ankle) and Cara Koenen (ankle) all worse for wear.
Sunshine Coast called a timeout just three minutes into the match, with Wood getting her left knee heavily strapped and sitting out until midway through the second quarter before finishing the match on the bench.
Scherian also finished on the bench after injuring her ankle in a heavy collision with Firebirds keeper Rudi Ellis, while Koenen finished the game gingerly after a heavy collision in the third quarter.
Lightning coach Kylee Byrne said recent shuffles were starting to catch up with the players.
“That accumulation of the last couple of weeks we’re seeing come out in a few teams and I just hope it doesn’t come to injuries,” Byrne said.
“That’s the last thing we want.”
Firebirds’ season alive
The Firebirds still have a tough road to the top four but they’ve kept their season alive with a win over the Lightning, who blew the chance to go to the top of the ladder with a victory.
Queensland plays the Magpies (6th) and Vixens (8th) but also meets the West Coast Fever, who have lost just two games all season and are among the competition favourites despite their 12-point penalty for historical salary cap breaches.
QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS 59 (Aiken 40, Bueta 19)
SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING 49 (Koenen 32, Proscovia 17)