Fever bounced back on the Sunshine Coast with a hard fought three-goal win over the Lightning. While the Thunderbirds suffered a defeat at the hands of the Firebirds in Brisbane.
Fever engaged in a goal-for-goal battle with the Lightning, but it was their defensive pressure in the third quarter which set up the impressive 71-68 victory. The Fever won the third quarter by four goals with six gains, six deflections, and an intercept making life hard for the Lightning.
In Brisbane, the Thunderbirds were always behind on the scoreboard in their 10-goal loss of the Firebirds. Their unforced turnover count was significantly higher than the Firebirds as they struggled to find their form, which sees them sit third on the table with a five and three record.
Head-to-Head
The biggest adjust for Fever will be the new surrounds of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, having previously played the Thunderbirds exclusively at Netball SA Stadium. The Entertainment Centre holds more than 9,000 fans compared to the much smaller Netball SA Stadium.
It will again be a Jamaican battle for the ages as the six Sunshine Girls take to the same SSN court for the second time in a month.
The mouthwatering battle between Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey will be pivotal to the contest. If the previous clash is anything to go by, then the Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Romelda Aiken-George match-up will also go a long way to determining the outcome.
The dangerous Latanya Wilson caused issues for Fever in Round Six, and the team in the Green Dress will need to work out how to combat her defensive and offensive prowess. The likes of Alice Teague-Neeld and Jordan Cransberg could match-up directly against the Jamaican International in another important battle.
From the Court
Head Coach Dan Ryan said the Thunderbirds know how to win, especially in front of their home crowd.
“They’re going to challenge all parts of our game and we’re going to do the same to them, hopefully it’s a really good spectacle of some high-quality Netball,” he said.
“We’re going to make sure we’re really focused on all the great things in our game that make us hard to beat, and just refining and adding a few things into how we play as well.”
You can catch Fever take on the Thunderbirds from Adelaide this Saturday night on Kayo Sports and Foxtel
West Coast Fever v Adelaide Thunderbirds
5pm AWST, Saturday 8 June 2024
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Watch here.
