Resident writer and former Kelpies captain Heath Brown continues to coach from the back seat after the first batch of rounds have passed.
This week he puts the lens on the Vixens, Thunderbirds, Fever and Mavericks and their areas of strength, as well as the potential threads other teams can pull if they’re to expose them for the remainer of the season!
MELBOURNE VIXENS
The Vixens are firing when they are allowed to run the ball and drive through court at pace. At their best the ball is ‘fanging it’ downcourt at a pace no one else in the competition can come close to matching, powered by sequenced timing to contest that allows immediate release in back to back phases that leaves defenders chasing or breaks through structures in seconds. They can generate this pace in long court or short, through years of being able to prefer t their connections with a line up that knows each other too well.
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We saw last year before the now infamous “let’s go to the pub” circuit breaker what it looks like when they are not at their best. Many teams make the mistake of thinking an offline defence will work against these speedsters, when reality is creating disconnections through the phases with their key ball runners is the now not-so-secret sauce to stemming their scoreboard impact. A good old fashioned tag with dictating and channeling, mixed with isolating the ball carrier with sags and squeezes, troubles this team. You have to make them work for possession and hold up their speed in doing so, which eventually forces them into error as they are forced to play a slower game that eventually coughs up errors. Good luck doing it though – they’re the best team in the world at ball running and handling so it needs a four-quarter lock down.
If there was a single player to shut down to bring this team to a grinding halt – it’s Kip. Don’t leave her without a tag because she will be under post in seconds unmanned before you have a chance to blink.
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS
The TBirds are the talk of the town because of how seamlessly their new inclusions have integrated into the Adelaide way of playing that has given them so much success. They are hard to beat when their defence end is firing and providing endless supply to their attackers. When their defence is playing one on one, they’re each good enough to consistently turn ball over in the contest. Shamera might get the accolades but for me, her Jamaican partner in crime Latanya Wilson is the best defender in the world right now by far. Unlike Sterling, Wilson can work the ground and air to get ball, making her a tagger, contester and hunter – the ultimate triple threat.
But every athlete in this comp has a bogey player that they don’t match up on well, or a style of play that can expose them. Keep the ball out of the air in a one on one contest and this side’s defence becomes frustrated visibly, and out of play as a consequence. It forces Sterling to play front which is where she gets lost as she gets most of her contested ball from behind, along the hip or on the run. The shooters with strong body holds who can also move are ideal match ups to expose this. Giants and Vixens exploited this well, but it’s tough to execute for a full game as each phase through court has to be played to the set up of the ‘Birds which can cause cognitive overload and error from attackers.
WEST COAST FEVER
This team silenced even me when we all thought no Jhaneille Fowler would see Fever fall back to the pack. Don’t get me wrong, she would still make any team a 10 to 15-goal better side, but to replace her with a player that plays to a similar structure was a masterstroke. The second masterstroke of the clever recruitment strategy for the girls in green: luring back Sasha Glasgow, so they have the deadliest two-point threat, gives them the punch they lacked last year to go all the way.
This is the most strategic and disciplined side in the comp. They adjust their game style to match the opposition and are full of smart players end to end who can play that elusive game plan week to week.
Teams need to go into games v Fever with a Plan A and Plan B. Coach Ryan is a netball academic who supported by Sue Gaudion could jointly write a script to beat every single player in the game. Coming to a game against them with clear change ups to commonly used tactics patterns of play can make their key players less effective with a blunted game plan.
MELBOURNE MAVERICKS
It only took me 10 years, but I’m now on the JLP train and have a huge crush. I didn’t know she was this good until you put her around Melbourne netballers and coaches, where I think the Victorian style of play and culture is a match made in heaven. She hasn’t put a foot wrong and has filled a void on their list that means they’re finals bound if all goes well. JLP is what I call a multiplier – she plays the game hard and simply and therefore makes the game of others around her better. She’s not too flashy and gets her job done so others look better. Parmy is a bigger weapon with her former teammate by her side, and the ball supply to the frontline is endless and effortlessly effective.
You might therefore think the game plan is to tag JLP out of it. Which is partially true – because we all know the girl can have a temper and can respond to physicality with more physicality. But I think she’s matured and now responds with more class to physical approaches trying to bait her. and lets her game do the talking. Making their WA and GA be the main suppliers to the shooters is where the errors will come. Reduce the amount of ball handling JLP does up front and increase the possession load of the other two and their scoreboard pressure slows or becomes more laborious.
What backseat coaching would you employ if you were at the helm of these in-form sides?
Next week we will tackle the next four teams and their early season strengths and points to pick away at.
