Fever starts pre-season campaign in Port Hedland

In Game One, Fever overcame an 11-goal half time deficit to produce a dominant third quarter which brought them right back into the content.

They continued the momentum in the final quarter to hit the lead for the first time in the match with 11 minutes left to play. The West Coast Thunder were able to rally and regain control in the latter stages to secure a three-goal win.

The Fever defensive trio of Sunday Aryang, Fran Williams and Kadie-Ann Dehaney were solid in the defence with the experience of Alice Teague-Neeld and captain Jess Anstiss in the midcourt was important. Superstar Goal Shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard finished the match with 47 goals including two supershots.

Game Two was an arm wrestle throughout, but it was the Thunder who dominated the supershot periods in each quarter which was the difference.

Fever youngster Olivia Wilkinson was not to be out done from range, nailing several attempts throughout the first half before Jamaican international Shanice Beckford took over the goal attack role in the second half.

The game was a special occasion for the Aryang sisters, Sunday and Ruth, who stepped onto the court in the green dress together for the first time. It was also the first time two sets of sisters were on the court together with the Aryangs joined by the Cransberg twins, Jordan and Zoe. 

The Thunder goal attacks Max Denholm and Dravyn Lee-Tauroa led the way for the Men’s team, both were exceptional from supershot range.

West Coast Fever Head Coach Dan Ryan said it was great to showcase elite women’s and men’s netball in front of regional netball fans.

“On behalf of the Club, I want to thank Fortescue, the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural industries and the Town of Hedland for their support to bring elite netball to Port Hedland.

“We hope that our Pilbara Green Army fans enjoyed the spectacle of the two matches between Fever and the West Coast Thunder Men’s Open Team.

“Hopefully the outstanding performances from both teams will help inspire some of the young fans to dream big and emulate their heroes.

“This weekend has been a great start to our pre-season matches. We’ve learnt a lot and can’t wait to get to Melbourne and Sydney to take our Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) rivals in the coming weeks.”

Fortescue Director Operations – Northern Hub Katie Charuga said: “We know how passionate the netball community is across WA and we’re pleased that through Fortescue’s partnership with the West Coast Fever, we’ve been able to bring this elite sport to Port Hedland where many of our team members and their families reside. 

“We want to ensure that netball continues to thrive for years to come and boosting the sport in our regional communities is key to this. I’m thrilled the Hedland community has thrown their support behind this weekend’s event and welcomed the Fever with open arms.” 

West Coast Fever would like to thank their principal partner Fortescue for their assistance to take the pre-season matches to Port Hedland. The Club also received assistance from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries through its Sport and Recreation Events Funding Program. The Town of Port Hedland and the Port Hedland Netball Association were also extremely important to helping deliver the matches at Wanangkura Stadium.

Scoreboards

Game 1 

Game 2