Bianca Chatfield: Diamonds shooter Sophie Garbin’s sad situation with over-muscled Magpies

The standouts are the two leaders, West Coast Fever and Adelaide Thunderbirds, which was widely predicted, and Melbourne Vixens are still well in the mix.

NSW Swifts have performed far better than we probably expected after a shaky first few rounds. They still need to improve their starts, but Briony Akle’s team is almost becoming the SSN equivalent of Collingwood in the AFL with its ability to win the close ones.

If anyone breaks into the top bracket now, it will be the fifth-placed Lightning. I don’t expect Giants, Magpies or Firebirds to feature in finals; any run they make now will be too late.

And my report card this week starts with an honorary distinction for Liz Ellis in the jungle, winning “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!”

That’s the Liz we in netball all know, but it’s the wider world getting to see her on a reality TV show and almost being surprised about how great she is.

The moral of the story: never underestimate netballers.

Distinctions

JHANIELE FOWLER

It was a great team effort from the Fever against Lightning, but Fowler shot 65 goals from 65 attempts — and somehow wasn’t even player-of-the-match!

She’s been the league MVP for the past five years, so we know how dominant Fowler has been, but it’s also the impact the Jamaican has on those around her.

There’s been so much comment around Sasha Glasgow and Alice Teague-Neeld out the front, but credit where it’s due and Fowler is the one who really helps everyone else be the best version of themselves.

She’s so reliable, so unflappable and even though teams are always trying to find ways to beat her, she just smiles and gets on with it, no matter what’s thrown her way.

Even back when I was playing against her, you would try to be more physical against Jhaniele, to even get the ball to drop so she couldn’t get two hands on it cleanly, and now she’ll just shake off anybody who tries to do that.

I overlook her too much. Perhaps we all do. Sometimes it needs restating just what an exceptional player Fowler really is.

SWIFTS

They haven’t played the prettiest or the most convincing netball. You wouldn’t necessarily back them in at the start of a game, but they somehow keep finding a way to handle these tight finishes and come away with the four points.

I was almost shocked to see they’re third on the ladder. And their percentage of just 97.49, the worst among the top five, shows just how tight the margins have been. Yet they are able to conjure victories out of nowhere.

Experience counts for so much in those situations, when the pressure’s on. What a game from Maddy Turner against the Giants, with four intercepts, and Sarah Klau’s eight gains included the match-turner. It’s just the courage to go and take it and to keep both hands on the ball, even though you know there’s someone hitting you front on.

I think it’s also the faith Akle’s shown in someone like Romelda Aiken-George, who’s come in after 198 games with the Firebirds and, while struggling for accuracy at times, has still been the option the Swifts have needed in the absence of the injured Sam Wallace.

Passes

GEVA MENTOR

My old defensive partner is 38. I was 33 when I finished in 2015 and Geva’s two years younger than me.

Even then, we were the two doing the off-leg sessions at training when the girls were out there on court; the two doing boxing together on the sidelines because our knees were rubbish.

The fact that she is still going eight years on, and now at her fourth club while still also playing for England, is incredible. I’m actually shocked at Mentor’s ability to be able to show up every game with a fresh body and to continue to push and challenge.

She had a huge impact on Sunday against the Thunderbirds, a hand on everything, and kept the Magpies in it for much of the game when they were struggling. Nine gains, five intercepts, nine deflections.

Geva’s either got superhuman genes that help her recover, or she keeps putting in the effort off the court to get her body right. Maybe a bit of both. She’s really answered all her critics and this season has been even better than her last.

JO HARTEN

The Giants captain has made the call at the right time to finish up with England less than three months out from the World Cup.

We’ve seen her battling to get through in recent months and Harten couldn’t even take the court during the Quad Series in January.

A World Cup isn’t like play-once-a week-SSN; you have to be able to back up every day, so the smartest thing for Harten is to go out on a high. She’s represented the Roses for 16 years and was a big part of that amazing gold medal win at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

It’s far better to know when it’s time to bow out than to wait for the tap on the shoulder. It’s also best for the team, if England is to have any chance of succeeding in Cape Town.

This decision will probably prolong Harten’s Super Netball career as well, given that it lifts the burden of continuing to push her body for 12 months of the year.

Fails

OVERDONE PHYSICALITY

It might be slightly hypocritical coming from me to criticise the physicality of the lower bracket of teams, but the tactic seems to be to outmuscle their more highly-skilled opponents.

I’m finding it uncomfortable to watch some of what’s happening off the ball, in particular, which is often not captured on the broadcast. It’s really scrappy and it’s reflected in the penalties: Magpies had 72 and Firebirds had 60. That’s a huge amount.

It’s reducing some of these games to a street fight, and Fever and Thunderbirds especially are trying to stand strong but they’ve just got people flying at them.

It feels like it compromises the skill level when the opposition is trying to scrag and scrap. When skills are executed beautifully, our game is amazing to watch, but we’re not getting enough of that because of these tactics.

People will say the Super Shot’s got a lot to do with it but I just feel it’s the way some teams are playing the game. For Thunderbirds against Collingwood, it was almost a case of, “Stand strong and wait for the hit and try and play”.

NETBALL’S CRUEL INJURY GODS

Shannon Eagland’s been one of those players who’s done everything she can to forge an elite netball career: she’s moved clubs several times and she’s recognised as a great team person everywhere she goes.

In her first season at Lightning, where she followed former Fever assistant coach Belinda Reynolds, it looks like Eagland’s done her knee again; her “good knee’’. Which is such a sad part of our sport. Of any sport.

Sunny Coast captain Steph Wood was in tears afterwards and that was telling, because she’s only known Shannon for such a small amount of time.

That’s three knees in the past year for the Lightning, following Reilley Batcheldor and Tara Hinchliffe. There’s some kind of knee curse up there. It’s too cruel.

Diamonds Watch

I really hope the Diamonds are watching over Sophie Garbin and providing her with plenty of support.

I really feel for Garbin, because of the pressure she’s under trying to fit into the way Collingwood want her to play. It’s the complete opposite of what Stacey Marinkovich wants when she’s on court for Australia.

The Magpies only had her out there for 31 minutes against the Thunderbirds, and brought her on and off the bench to goal attack.

Garbin’s a goal shooter, and the former Swift will really need to consider her options for next year because it’s not helpful at all the way things are going. We’re missing so much of what should be the prime of her career because she’s out of position at the Magpies.

I wonder if there’s a lot of conversations going on behind the scenes about what’s the best thing for Sophie. I hope so.

More Coverage

Chatfield: My Diamonds squad, England star’s warning shot

Bianca Chatfield

Otherwise, Turner (who was dropped for Tilly Garrett) and Teague-Neeld (who also missed out on selection among the preliminary group of 19) responded to their disappointment in the best possible way.

I don’t expect them to be added to the squad but for all the players who did make it, and especially the experienced campaigners, this is an important first tick but not the main one.

Everyone’s focus is now onto the team itself, which will be announced after round 13.