Nat Metcalf of Manchester Thunder - Image: Ben Lumley
The latest round of the Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) season saw records broken, tight scorelines, and post-to-post performances. The Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) had Vitality Roses going head-to-head, making their mark on fixtures that went down to the wire, and the ANZ Premiership continued in fine fashion.
Here’s how the Vitality Roses performed in all competitions…
VNSL Round 15
Team Bath’s Layla Guscoth gave a standout performance in her side’s home fixture against Severn Stars as she earned six interceptions and six turnovers to contribute to her team’s 50-40 win.
Hannah Joseph’s Loughborough Lightning secured victory in their meeting with Strathclyde Sirens. Joseph tallied 25 feeds, many of which were fired into the hands of Ella Clark who successfully netted 35 to support in Lightning’s 52-46 win.
Laura Malcolm’s Manchester Thunder set a new VNSL scoring record in their 57-88 victory over Wasps on Saturday.
Their win was aided by a staggering 27 feeds from Nat Metcalf, which were accurately put away by Eleanor Cardwell, who converted 48 shots during their encounter.
Wasps were the victors at the end of an intense hour of action against Leeds Rhinos.
At half-time, Jade Clarke’s Rhinos were matched with Wasps on 29 goals, but after a final flurry from Wasps in the closing stages, they swung the result in their favour and ended the match with a five-goal advantage (57-52).
A three-goal margin was the difference between success and defeat in Monday’s fixture between Celtic Dragons and London Pulse.
Home side Dragons led after the first 15 minutes (10-8), but thanks to the pinpoint shooting of Olivia Tchine, Pulse had turned it around and led by two at the halfway stage (23-25).
Dragons continued to counter Pulse’s attack as they went goal-for-goal in the final quarter of the match, but it wasn’t meant to be for the Welsh side who were narrowly beaten 49-52 by the top four challengers.
SSN Round Six
In a high-scoring performance between Helen Housby’s NSW Swifts and Sunshine Coast Lightning, it was Lightning who managed to secure the victory.
Despite 31 goals from Housby, Lightning ran out 62-69 winners at the end of the fourth quarter.
After a closely contested display from both sides, Geva Mentor’s Collingwood Magpies secured victory against Eboni Usoro-Brown’s Queensland Firebirds (59-67).
In a match that went to the wire, Jo Harten’s GIANTS Netball snatched a narrow victory from the hands of West Coast Fever.
Stacey Francis-Bayman’s Fever were joined by training partner Chelsea Pitman, who notched 12 assists throughout the match, while Harten looked sharp in front of goal, adding 33 goals to her team’s tally.
Both sides left it all out on court as they battled to the end with the lead changing hands throughout the closing minutes. However, it was GIANTS who got in front and saw out a narrow 74-73 win.
ANZ Round Seven
George Fisher’s side Southern Steel had their Round Seven fixture against Splice Construction Magic postponed in accordance with the league’s Covid-19 Match Postponement Policy.
Her side will be back in action on Sunday to face Trident Homes Tactix.
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