Netball Super League: What happened in rounds eight & nine?
- Published
London Pulse reached the semi-final for the first time last season after joining the league in 2019
Six teams hit the courts twice in one weekend, London Pulse come out on top in "battle" with Loughborough Lightning and which attacker is impressing before this summer's World Cup?
Here is what you need to know from rounds eight and nine.
Pulse on top in 'battle' with rivals Lightning
With six wins apiece, Lightning and Pulse came into their face-off level on points in the league and sitting third and fourth, respectively.
Results inside the top four have been hard to call this season with each side taking points off another - and this match had the same air of unpredictability.
But Pulse started well and managed to grapple a slim four-goal lead at half time, stifling Lightning's attack to claim the 55-49 victory.
Head coach Sam Bird said it was her side's "nerve" that saw them through.
"I'm very happy after that," Bird told BBC Sport. "It was an outstanding standard of match, the players on both sides were exceptional. The level of contest was probably the highest I've seen in the Super League for a few years.
"It was a real battle. Once we took the lead they came back at us, but we kept our nerve and the full court defensive pressure finally got us over the line."
That pressure, starting with defensive duo Halimat Adio and England World Cup hopeful Funmi Fadoju, held Lightning to their lowest score of the season, limiting prolific Uganda shooter Mary Cholhok to just 32 goals.
"We want these tightly-contested matches, it's what the players and the fans want, so we need to keep seeing that," added Bird. "It's important there are a number of tight matches across every round.
"It's great to see that and it helps the Roses and other home nations develop for the World Cup and Commonwealth Games and that's ultimately what we want.
"We want brilliant domestic competition, but setting these players up to try to win medals at world level as well."
Six teams hit courts twice in one weekend
Both rounds eight and nine took place over the course of the weekend with six of the 10 teams hitting the court twice.
Lightning shooter Cholhok and wing-attack Hannah Joseph combined sublimely against Storm, recording the highest number of goals and feeds in any single match over the two rounds.
Cholhok scored 57 goals and Joseph had 37 feeds in the impressive 73-64 victory over the league leaders.
But the duo were unable to have the same impact in the dramatic loss to London Pulse.
Pulse had beaten Dragons 52-37 the day before, despite defender Shaquanda Greene-Noel recording seven turnovers in the match, taking her tally for the season to 43, the third highest in the league.
The Welsh outfit then squandered a four-goal half-time lead against Strathclyde Sirens in their second match, giving the ball away in the final seconds to lose 42-41 in dramatic fashion.
Statistics shown are the highest number of goals, shot feeds, interceptions and turnovers by a player in one single game over rounds eight and nine
Severn Stars edged a tight 53-51 victory over Leeds Rhinos before falling to a 79-42 defeat to Storm, while Ine Mari-Venter scored a magnificent 51 goals in Saracens Mavericks' 66-62 win over Team Bath, despite trailing by four at the half-time break.
Mavericks followed that up with a 63-56 loss to defending champions Manchester Thunder with South Africa international Shadine van der Merwe's six intercepts contributing to a dominant defensive display.
World Cup watch: Joseph consistently solid
Lightning wing attack Joseph made her England debut back in 2016, but has since only made eight appearances in the red dress.
The 29-year-old has played a crucial role at Lightning since joining the club in 2011, helping them to win a maiden Super League title in 2021.
Joseph's performances this season have seen her provide Lightning's shooters with 176 feeds, third in the overall season standings behind Stars' Jess Shaw on 206 and England captain Natalie Metcalf, who is the favoured Roses wing attack, on 216.
A hard-working player who often goes under the radar, Joseph is just one of several options for that position, with former Thunder player Laura Malcolm and Pulse's Chelsea Pitman also in the frame for this summer's World Cup.
Joseph was a reserve for last year's Commonwealth Games, but her tireless engine along with her consistency has been irreplaceable to Lightning for more than 10 years.
England head coach Jess Thirlby will need quality back-up for Metcalf in the South Africa tournament.
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- Published10 July 2019
