Netball Super League: What happened in round seven?
- Published
Lightning recorded a sixth consecutive win over Rhinos
Who is winning the battle of the shooters? Is this the 'most exciting' Super League season yet? And who is showing they are a crucial part of the England squad before this summer's World Cup?
Here are the talking points from round seven of the Netball Super League.
Battle of the shooters
Every Super League winning team needs a really good shooter - so who is shining this season in the all-important role?
Manchester Thunder's Lenize Potgieter has been outstanding since her arrival this season, putting up 95 shots in her side's double game week - 53 in Thunder's comfortable 76-57 victory over Team Bath and 42 in their tense 63-56 win over Severn Stars, which went to the wire.
The South African recorded an overall shooting accuracy of 96%, with just four missed efforts in almost 120 minutes of netball.
Stars' fearless performance against Thunder was boosted by a confident shooting display from Sigrid Burger, who scored 47 of her 48 shots and sits second in the overall shooting standings with 311.
Burger is second only to Storm's Proscovia Peace - who scored 32 goals in her side's 68-40 win over Celtic Dragons to take her season tally to 329.
Meanwhile, Strathclyde Sirens' Bethan Goodwin put 50 goals up in her side's impressive 71-47 win over Saracens Mavericks, their highest win-margin since 2017.
Another shooter looking to make her mark is veteran Rachel Dunn, who made her first Dragons appearance against Storm since being left without a team after Wasps were removed from the league in November.
The former England star has over 200 Super League appearances and it was announced on Monday she would join Dragons after shooter Chelsea Beard was ruled out of the remainder of the season with injury.
World Cup watch: Guscoth exudes class
Layla Guscoth is a name England fans expect to see in the Roses squad and this summer's World Cup will be no different.
Guscoth's 2019 World Cup came to an agonising end in Liverpool when she ruptured her Achilles in England's second group match.
But the 31-year-old has since become a stalwart in head coach Jess Thirlby's squad and, despite her relative inexperience compared with veteran defender Geva Mentor, Thirlby has come to rely on her skills following the retirements of defenders Eboni Usoro-Brown and Stacey Francis-Bayman.
Her dynamism, work rate, consistency and ability to pluck the ball out of thin air has proved critical to Storm's magnificent campaign so far and could also be vital to England's medal hopes.
'Every team is exciting'
Leeds Rhinos remain the only side without a win but their performances perhaps do not warrant their position at the bottom of the league.
Rhinos led Loughborough Lightning 30-29 at half-time but, after what head coach Liana Leota called an "atrocious" final quarter, they fell to a 63-49 defeat.
"It's another step up, but last week [against Manchester Thunder] it was our third quarter that was atrocious and this week it's the fourth," said Leota. "In those critical moments we need to learn how to win."
Former New Zealand international Leota was part of the Thunder team that won the Super League in 2019 and she knows what it means to have a winning mentality.
"We're having to be a bit gentle with ourselves in that even though we've set targets and we're not quite achieving them, we are getting closer and closer. We're not far off," she told BBC Sport.
"I would rather have gradual gains than experience the highs and lows of winning then losing."
While Leota's side are still looking for their first victory, she said this year is "the most exciting" she has been part of during her seven-year Super League career.
"Every team is exciting, you can't say what the scoreline could be or who is going to win.
"When I was playing with Thunder sometimes you'd turn up and know what you were going to get, you might know you were going to walk away with a win, but this year you just can't do that."
Related topics
- Published10 July 2019
