The Sunshine Coast Lightning’s Super Netball Grand Final dreams were dashed by a powerful West Coast Fever outfit on Saturday afternoon.
Formidable goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler inspired the West Coast Fever to outmuscle the Sunshine Coast Lightning 75-67 and progress to the Super Netball Preliminary final.
Despite being double-teamed for long stints of the match, Fowler shot 54 goals at a blistering 98 percent to help fight off a late Lightning surge.
“Strategically they were double-teaming her with a fair bit of physicality. It was more about being able to keep repositioning,” Fever coach Stacey Marinkovich said.
“She really showed good leadership on court in varying her starting position which gave us a release pass, you saw her on the move.”
Fever will now face the Giants in next week’s preliminary final for a spot in the big dance against the NSW Swifts.
While Fowler played an undeniable role in the win, the Jamaican superstar was set up time and time again by her trusty midcourter Verity Charles – the pair share an almost telepathic connection.
“They have a great mateship off the court, which you see through the way they communicate with each other,” Marinkovich said.
“When (Charles’) work rate’s up, she gives us a really direct passage to that circle. She’s prepared to feed it on and off the circle.”
Charles clocked a whopping 30 goal assists and 50 feeds on Saturday. She also recorded 16 centre-pass receives and one deflection in a performance that saw her awarded Player of the Match.
“We live to see another day. Every game is tough, we knew they were going to come out firing, and they did exactly that. We are so stoked to get this, it was a tough battle out there,” Charles said.
“I’ve got good teammates around me, they do the work around me and make me look good, so thank you to the girls.”
While Fowler played an undeniable role in the win, the Jamaican superstar was set up time and time again by her trusty midcourter Verity Charles – the pair share an almost telepathic connection.
Charles clocked a whopping 30 goal assists and 50 feeds on Saturday. She also recorded 16 centre-pass receives and one deflection.
The Australian Diamond’s phenomenal effort in attack saw her awarded Player of the Match.
“We live to see another day. Every game is tough, we knew they were going to come out firing, and they did exactly that. We are so stoked to get this, it was a tough battle out there,” Charles said.
“I’ve got good teammates around me, they do the work around me and make me look good, so thank you to the girls.”
Lightning effort
It wasn’t an easy match by any means – Lightning made Fever work for every goal.
The sides were neck and neck in the third quarter, when goal shooters Steph Wood and Cara Koenen clicked into another gear.
There was, as usual, plenty to like about their moving circle.
Koenen held her own against Fever’s keeper Courtney Bruce – she even snatched up five rebounds and a couple of intercepts.
Lightning’s goal keeper Phumza Maweni busted her guts in defence, notching two intercepts, two deflections and one rebound.
Ultimately, the Green Machine took control of the final quarter and not even Super Shot extraordinaire Wood could bring it home for the Sunshine Coast.
Villains or heroes?
Fever have been heavily scrutinised all season for their breaches and sanctions of the Super Netball Salary cap. Many fans firmly believe that the 12-point penalty – a punishment the club easily overcame – was not harsh enough. Some fans are salty that Marinkovich’s side is even playing finals netball. Still, you can’t help but watch in awe as Fever continues to block out the off-court chatter, survive their sanctions and excel through arguably the toughest finals in Super Netball history.
“Nobody quite grasps what it’s like to go into a season like this one, with Covid and the other things outside. But I think that’s galvanised our group even more, we know that every game is counted” Marinkovich said.
Sudden death awaits
It was a solid win, but the work has only just begun for Fever. Next week, they’ll face a gritty Giants side in the elimination preliminary final. West Coast will be determined to send off its coach Marinkovich in style, before she steps away from club-land to coach the Australian Diamonds in a full-time capacity. Julie Fitzgerald’s Giants, however, will have their tails up after truly challenging the NSW Swifts in their own major semi final. The Giants also beat Fever just two weeks ago, so they know exactly how to take down Marinkovich’s side. One thing’s certain – it’s going to be a cracker.
“How they move the ball is different to other teams, defensively they work as a unit. We’ll look at that,” Marinkovich said.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to keep backing our game, doing the work and making sure that we challenge what Giants do with our brand.”
Originally published as Sunshine Coast Lightning’s Super Netball dreams crushed after loss to West Coast Fever