Bianca Chatfield: World Cup selection one of the few things left to hold on to in Collingwood’s macabre death march

Everyone is hurting for the Magpies and it’s hard to watch. You want them to do well and enjoy their final moments, so you can’t look away. But at the same time it’s wrapped up in such raw emotion that you don’t really want to see how it plays out.

I would find it really hard to lead the Magpies right now. You don’t have finals to play for, or even a club to play for, or your position in that club for the following year.

At the moment, the individual focus is really on players who are eligible for the World Cup. Even when we talk about future contracts, how much store are recruiters going to be placing in the Magpies’ performances in the final rounds, given the circumstances?

All the players can do is try to have a bit of fun, but even that wears thin after a while. So it’s a really tough ask for the Magpies to have to front up for these next three games, and I just hope we see a lot of smiles on their faces while they’re doing it.

*****

Distinctions

MATILDA GARRETT AND THE THUNDERBIRDS DEFENCE

As a team, they managed to keep Fever to 53 and, as a unit, limited Jhaniele Fowler to 42, while Garrett completely tagged Sasha Glasgow out of the game.

It’s exactly what they did against the Vixens in round five: a three-pronged defensive approach where Latanya Wilson out the front shuts down the first ball, knowing that Garrett is smothering the next lead, and then Shamera Sterling is waiting for the high ball to go over the top, because that’s the only other option.

And they don’t just have the opposition covered in the circle but in the whole attacking third. I think Wilson is the only wing defence who’s been able to shut down Alice Teague-Neeld and she’s managed it both times the teams have played this season. Then there’s Garrett tagging the dangerous Glasgow during the Power Five, and Sterling doing what Sterling does when the ball’s lifted in the air.

You even saw Eleanor Cardwell contribute defensively, and pick off a few intercepts in the middle third. Applying pressure early means they’re all getting involved. There was none of that in the previous round against the Vixens.

Adelaide is now the elite of the elite in that it can turn something like that around through what must have been a hard week on the training track, and with athletes who are ready to problem-solve, rather than worry about having just had a big loss. They just got on with it and were able to show up the next week with a completely different mindset.

Thunderbirds deserve to be sitting where they are: on top of the ladder.

We also have to give a shout out to Hannah Petty, who is probably a bit of an unsung hero. To be a captain coming off the bench can be tricky, however she seems to be really content with her role and knows it so well that when she gets her chance out on court she does what she needs to do, week in, week out.

Petty’s parking her ego and I have a lot of respect for that, because I don’t believe your captain has to be out there all the time, if they can play their role as well as Petty does. Her leadership was outstanding late in the game.

TAYLA FRASER AND THE SWIFTS

Speaking of unsung heroes … Fraser at wing defence, for the hard work she did across the tranverse line against the Vixens.

She is someone who often gets left out of the conversation considering the big names we always talk about. If Allie Smith was available, I wonder if Fraser would even be on the court.

But the way she shut down Hannah Mundy and basically made the Vixens have to play their game away from the middle channel of the court was so impressive. Helen Housby, Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud were all phenomenal as well, and you can see why the Swifts are now on a seven-game winning streak.

Everything is so clinical but tactical. Sophie Fawns coming on, coming off, using the last five minutes of every quarter to nail a few Super Shots. She shot seven from 10 two-point attempts and she’d only shot six for the season prior to Sunday.

Obviously Fawns is training for those moments, she’s also getting warmed up behind the scenes just for those five minutes. The tactics behind it means you’re empowering Fawns to come on and make an impact, without being mentally scarred by then being removed from the court.

It was the latest instalment in the Briony Akle coaching master class that included moving Sarah Klau out to goal defence and Maddy Turner back to keeper. There was no height mismatch with Mwai Kumwenda, so why not put Turner back there?

I just feel like the Swifts, along with the T-birds, are going to be very hard to stop. They don’t do anything fancy, so sometimes it’s really to identify what it is that they’re doing so well. But they just do what they do really well all the time. And they’ve still got Smith and Teigan O’Shannassy to come back in if required.

The Vixens always struggle with the Swifts. Always. And even their home court didn’t prove to be the advantage they needed. They have some thinking to do.

SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING

An extra distinction this week goes to the Lightning. Not for their netball, but the way they wrapped their arms around the Magpies and gave them a classy send-off.

I’ve always hated the huddles after the game to give three cheers for the other team. I just find that such a netball thing, and it doesn’t make sense in my head.

However, it was a really powerful moment for the Lightning and Magpies to get together on Saturday night, and that camaraderie is what our sport’s all about.

Steph Wood was in there saying how sorry her club is for what’s happened, and Geva Mentor — who, like Kelsey Browne, is a former Lightning premiership player — thanked them for the crowd response and how they’d been treated since arriving on the Sunny Coast.

It was everyone showing Collingwood that they cared, and letting them know how shattered they would be if in the same position. The game became secondary to the actual connection between the two playing groups.

*****

Pass

FIREBIRDS IN FIRST NATIONS ROUND

After the Jemma Mi Mi debacle in 2020, the Firebirds read the room this time. Not only did the starting seven include their contracted Indigenous player, shooter Donnell Wallam, but also MiMi’s sister Leesa, who justified the call-up.

Mi Mi was given the chance to start after making her debut last week – which was appropriate for First Nations Round, and look what happened. An ideal result for both player and team.

*****

Fail

THE PERFORMANCE GAP

We could be starting finals now, rather than in three weeks time, so big is the gulf between the Thunderbirds, Swifts, Fever and Vixens and the rest. It was never more obvious than the weekend, when the top four and the bottom four played each other.

We’ve probably been lucky to have had such a close SSN competition over the past few seasons, and it’s quite some time since it’s all been locked away so early. But this year there’s a really significant difference in the standard of games.

It’s almost enough to have us calling for the return of the short-lived bonus points system.

On second thoughts, actually, no thanks!

The positive is we’re blooding some players and seeing some new combinations, and it was great that Remi Kamo and Ruby Bakewell-Doran were able to stand up for the Firebirds, for example.

The Giants, though, really took a step backwards. It’s the same old story: Jamie-Lee Price is so strong in the middle, but when Jo Harten is off the court there’s a big leadership gap. Others need to take on that role and not rely so much on Harten because who knows whether she’ll even be playing next year?

*****

Diamonds watch

The second goal defence position is getting interesting. I’m intrigued to see how that plays out. You would think Jo Weston has probably done enough to retain one of the World Cup spots, given her experience and ability to play a tagging role.

Klau is being moved out to goal defence more for the Swifts, and I’m loving what she can do there. She’s physically strong, she’s tall, and doesn’t seem to miss a beat if she’s got the support at the back. That provides another option for Stacey Marinkovich, given that in the last few years we haven’t had the luxury of a lot of players performing well at GD.

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So where does Sunday Aryang fit in? She’s got an established combination with Courtney Bruce, but have we seen the best of Aryang this season? In isolation, is she winning enough ball? It’s important to note that stats often don’t reveal a lot about how effectively a defender is executing a shut-down role, and the selectors will be very aware of that and watching closely.

Garrett and Bakewell-Doran are the candidates pushing Aryang, and one of those first two will go — at the very least — as the training partner and fifth circle defender in case of injury, given that the travelling reserves can come in as replacements during the competition for the first time. You would think Garrett is one step ahead at the moment, although Bakewell-Doran’s has had some good performances — but just in a weaker side.

It’s a long shot for Garrett to come straight into the 12 from never having been in the Diamonds squad before this year, but now could be the ideal time to include her in the 15 that will head over to Cape Town in July.