AN exciting Suncorp Super Netball preliminary final matchup between the Sunshine Coast Lightning and West Coast Fever saw the Fever dispose of the Lightning in another exceptional showing, dominating the first three quarters to run away with a 73-59 win and a chance at holding the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) trophy next week when they take on the Melbourne Vixens. The Lightning have been bumped out of premiership contention for the first time in SSN history, with the Fever finally getting the side back for the 2018 grand final loss.

A competitive and highly defensive start to the preliminary final forced patience from both the Lightning and Fever from the get-go, with neither side able to pull away with so much pressure on every ball. The Lightning home crowd was a huge eighth player, egging on the home side, though it was the Fever that got the first break through an excellent Jess Anstiss steal.

The Lightning attack in Steph Wood and Cara Koenen were firing well early as was speedster Laura Scherian, but it appeared that the defensive unit was still in warmup mode, unable to get hands to ball and seeing the Fever put up a couple of unanswered goals through both Jhaniele Fowler and Alice Teague-Neeld. While Courtney Bruce had early hands to ball but could not collect the gain, Stacey Francis got in on the action for an excellent intercept to propel ball forward once more. 

Both teams continued to apply a wealth of pressure on the ball, seeing bodies flying early and no easy access to goal. the Lightning defence seemed unable to stop Fowler, with both Phumza Maweni and Karla Pretorius unable to win back possession lost from the Lightning front end. The Fever ran away with a huge nine goal lead at the first break.

A huge second quarter saw the Fever start strong once more, with the Lightning’s lack of hands over pressure through the midcourt continuously allowing the Fever to speed down the court with ease. A great gain from Pretorius and goal – Lightning’s first for the game – saw the home side add one back off a Fever centre pass but wasted the next ball as the Fever continued to build. A lack of movement in the Lighting attack saw stagnant play and forced ball back to the centre third.

A renewed-looking Pretorius and Maweni began to apply a bit more pressure on Teague-Neeld which opened up a couple of opportunities, and while the scoreline remained much the same the Lightning seemed to be pulling back a fraction of the momentum. But a lack of confidence going to post over Bruce’s long arms cost the Lightning, with the Fever stealing the loose ball back and benefiting off every ounce of hesitance. A huge battle was waging between Laura Langman and Verity Charles, with the latter stage of the quarter showcasing the two centres’ hunt, but seeing a huge 16-goal buffer at half time.

The second half started on Fever’s terms once more with only a couple of passes required to find Fowler at the post. Relentless defensive pressure from the Fever saw the change made in the Lightning attack with Peace Proscovia taking the court and using her strength to put up an early goal against Bruce. But a huge scoreline continued to blow out, with Wood unable to fire against the physicality of Francis outside the circle and Bruce’s continued pressure inside.

Fowler continued to be a thorn in the Lightning’s side, constantly finding the ball with ease and absolutely dominating against Maweni and Pretorius who had no answer for the high ball coming into the circle. A couple of super shots from Steph Wood drew back the margin and patches of momentum once more, although the Lightning continued to allow too much easy ball to both Fowler and Teague-Neeld which saw little chance for the momentum and scoreline to fully swing back the way of the home side, with a huge margin going into the final quarter. 

A better start from the Lightning saw an even start to the final term, with both teams defending hard but not many players getting hands to ball when required. But Fever continued to control proceedings, easing down the court with vision on song given the lack of hands over pressure. Whenever the Lightning looked like they were up and about, the Fever were there to win ball back and do it in style, with Francis and Bruce continuing to fire from all cylinders.

Bruce hunting allowed Proscovia to find a couple of easy goals however a lack of turnover ball continued to see little opportunities to reduce the margin. The super shot period began with a couple of Wood goals while the Fever gave some young blood a run given the blown out scoreline with Courtney Kruta heading into centre. The Lightning continued to chip away the scoreline but it was too little, too late as the Fever ran away with a 14-goal win and grand final berth against the Melbourne Vixens next week.

Bruce and Francis were exceptional with 14 gains (five intercepts) between them, while Charles also nabbed two intercepts through the centre. Player of the match Emma Cosh and Teague-Neeld starred finding Fowler at the post, managing 28 and 25 assists respectively, with Teague-Neeld also putting up 10 goals from 18 attempts (three super shots). Fowler was commanding as ever with 60 goals from 62 attempts at 97 per cent.

For Lightning, Pretorius was quiet but still managed five gains (two intercepts) while Maweni racked up five deflections but zero gains and Jacqui Russell managed an excellent intercept to close out her career after announcing her retirement. A shared effort to post saw Wood (21 goals from 29 attempts, eight super shots), Proscovia (16 from 18) and Koenen (14 at 100 per cent) ultimately just not get enough volume to get the job done.

>>>FEVER TEAM PAGE
>>>LIGHTNING TEAM PAGE
>>>FULL MATCH STATS

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SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING 12 | 11 | 18 | 18 (59)
WEST COAST FEVER 21 | 18 | 20 | 14 (73)

Lightning

GS: Cara Koenen
GA: Steph Wood
WA: Laura Scherian
C: Laura Langman
WD: Maddy McAuliffe
GD: Karla Pretorius
GK: Phumza Maweni

Fever

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Alice Teague-Neeld
WA: Emma Cosh
C: Verity Charles
WD: Jess Anstiss
GD: Stacey Francis
GK: Courtney Bruce