The Sapphire squad face a reset ahead of their preliminary final after an outlier performance in their major semi-final loss to Cougars cost them the chance to advance straight to the Premier Netball League grand final.
The key numbers that took the Bull Sharks to a second-place finish after the regular season all took a dip in the 19-point loss. A slow start made it hard for the squad to climb back, but coach Rebecca Stower is proud of the girl’s resilience and care for each other and their performance across the later three quarters.
They’ll go back to the drawing board this weekend as they prepare for a preliminary final against Sunshine Coast Thunder.
Bull Sharks v Cougars at Nissan Arena
Bull Sharks lost 48 - 67
How it was Lost
It felt like Groundhog Day playing Cougars two weeks in a row. Once again, we gave ourselves a mountain to climb with a shocking start, down 16 goals at the first break. From there, we steadied, losing the remaining three quarters by just three goals in total – a stat that’s both disappointing and frustrating.
What made you happy
The girls’ resilience and their care for each other on court stood out. We stayed focused on our bubble, but by the end of the match there were so many holes punched in it that it was tough to know how to react.
Bull Sharks Netball – The Data
This result was a clear outlier compared to our season’s body of work. Across the year, we’ve averaged 74.28 goals per game. Just seven days earlier against this same opponent we scored 73 goals at 87.2%, and in round five it was 62 goals at 82%.
The penalty count also tells a story: we recorded a season-high 63 penalties, while Cougars finished with 49. By contrast, our season average sits at 41 per game. Last week the opposition racked up 50 penalties, and in Round 5 it was 63 – but this time, we were on the wrong side of the ledger.
Add in the fact that we generated 40 gains – normally a winning number – it highlights how unusual this game was. We simply couldn’t build any momentum, and frustratingly, much of that was out of our hands.
The work to do
We reset, return to training, and prepare for Thunder. One match at a time.
Trademark Players
Our defensive unit stood up. We put big emphasis last week on centre-pass defence, and it showed. The girls held Cougars high and wide, forcing them to chip around and slowing the feed into their shooters. We won quality ball and disrupted their flow consistently.
With Rebecca Stower