The Bull Sharks have again demonstrated they are a club on the rise with strong performances on a tough road trip against competition heavyweights the Sunshine Coast Thunder. The Ruby Series side kept their winning streak alive while the Sapphire Series girls pushed their highly fancied opponents to the very end.
Sapphire Series
Bull Sharks lost 78-72
Where it was won:
It was simply the quality of the opposition. The Sunshine Coast Thunder are the competition front runners for a reason. Their side features five former Super Netball players and six Sunshine Coast Lightning training partners including Charlie Bell who just had a stint as a replacement injury player in the ANZ Championships in New Zealand.
The highlight:
Mia Stower scoring 16 from 19 Super Shots, often under immense pressure from the physicality of being double teamed.
What made you happy:
The fact the girls never dropped their heads. We were down by 17 goals at one stage, and they fought to the final siren.
Bull Sharks Netball:
I’m so proud of the girls. The Thunder’s transition was very slick with Charlie Bell as a target under the post but to our girls’ credit they took on the feedback and the changes to our strategies and applied it. To score 72 goals as the losing team is quite phenomenal but it shows that we have the grit and determination to handle whatever is thrown at us this season.
The work to do:
We need to continue working on our connections and cutting down our unforced errors. Improving our centre pass defensive pressure is the other main focus.
Trademark Player:
Mia Stower took control of the game and handled a lot of ball and displayed great leadership skills by guiding and setting up plays for the other attackers.
Ruby Series
Bull Sharks won 59-24
Where it was won:
It was a tenacious full court defensive effort.
The highlight:
The connection between our defensive duo of Tehya Hyssett and Harriet Nicholson is building from last year and they turned over an astonishing amount of ball.
What made you happy:
Watching the girls continuing to build their connections on the court and being able to implement our feedback immediately.
Bull Sharks Netball:
We had a game plan heading into this match based on our understanding that Sunshine Coast Thunder would be a very physical team and that we needed to stay true to our style of play. I was super impressed with the girls on being able to do this for the entire four quarters.
The work to do:
Unforced errors are our main problem area, and we will continue working on cutting down on these.
Trademark Player:
It is hard to name just one. I think it was Tehya Hyssett and Harriet Nicholson as a combination. They were outstanding in keeping the Sunshine Coast Thunder to only 24 goals for the game.
With Kim Boland