By: Netball Australia (Sophie Taylor)
A hard-fought physical battle between Sunshine Coast Lightning and Adelaide Thunderbirds pushed both sides to the limit as the Thunderbirds ran home winners 60-45.
There was no doubting the intent of either club from the very start, with both sides playing a possession game early.
A blockbuster matchup between Liz Watson and Latanya Wilson did not disappoint, with the two going toe-to-toe and not backing down throughout a non-stop, tough contest.
Lauren Frew and Romelda Aiken-George were easy to spot and had no issue finding their way inside the circle, with feeds from Georgie Horjus becoming increasingly tougher for the Lightning to stop.
With both attacking sides taking a heavy load, it was a challenging match for both defensive ends to wrestle control with gains coming few and far between.
Leesa Mi Mi injected an additional layer of speed to the Lightning’s attack alongside Watson, who shuffled into centre midway through the second term and kept up well with Steph Fretwell who controlled the flow in attack.
Meanwhile, Hannah Petty continued where she left off from a mammoth Round 1 effort last week, running ragged through the midcourt and keeping Mahalia Cassidy on her toes.
A quiet opening quarter from both defensive ends was punctuated by a heated start to the second quarter, with limbs flying as players sought to pick up the loose ball.
Cara Koenen earned a second goal attack start to begin the season, starting well but succumbing to a monumental performance from Tilly Garrett.
At the other end, Lightning’s defence took some time to warm up to the match but were sparked by young gun Ash Ervin and her long arms.
She proved critical during the Power Five, as her all-important reach over the shot became tougher to withstand.
But while Ervin and Lightning’s defence rattled up the deflections, it was the Thunderbirds that were able to power through to claim the pickups.
Despite momentum swinging toward the Thunderbirds during the second term, it was Lightning who gained control toward the end stage of the half to trail by just two goals (27-29) at half time.
Continued efforts from Lightning kept them in the match as the final quarter began, but smooth and calm ball movement from the Thunderbirds was the name of the game.
The five-goal lead quickly doubled, with Lightning’s error rate proving too tough to overcome as the Thunderbirds continued to work through the mess.
Piling on the pressure across the court, they forced even more errors from the typically composed Lightning to run out 15-goal victors in Sippy Downs.
