Super Netball Round-Up: Firebirds legend’s snide remark, Fowler-Nembhard set to return and Diamonds struggle at Lightning

The tables have become super netball: after two rounds, a power is trapped at the bottom of the stairs, while last year’s problem is on the right path for redemption.

It is unusual for the fever of the west coast to feel outside the first four and face a very particular challenge: how fast can Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard shoot on the court?

The victory of Queensland Firebirds 67-54 gave the fever a second consecutive defeat, since the incoming coach Kiri Wills guided his team to his first consecutive victories to start a season since 2016, the same year he won a first floor, only for a legend of the Firebirds to make a comment about the club on the culture of the club.

The NSW Swifts and Melbourne Mavericks brought us the round of the Ronda, since the swifts did it 68-62 in the back of a better Super Shot strategy. An intense and physical battle made for entertaining visualization, thanks to the minimum interference of the referees.

On Sunday, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey admitted that he felt ill in all the 60-45 defeat of Adelaide Thunderbirds of the Lightning of Sunshine Coast, but did not prevent the goalkeeper from accumulating 11 profits, picking up the game player of the game and embarrasing a couple of Australian diamonds on the road.

To complete the weekend, the Vixens de Melbourne recovered from their start of terror of the season last week, surpassing the giants 61-55 in a grinding contest.

If you missed it, don’t worry, we will put you up to date with our Round-up Super Netball.

How bad, fever needs Jhaniele?

Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard has been the top scorer in each Super Netball season since he signed with the fever in 2018.

Throughout that time, the 1.98 m high Jamaican has avoided an important injury to lead his attack with incredible precision and a bouncing capacity.

For so long, the fever game plan has focused on feeding an unparalleled player anywhere else in the world and with that in mind, they are not surprising that they are struggling to act without it.

Some heartbreaking of the next 21-year-old shooter, Olivia Wilkinson, in her preseason, along with another of her Jamaican imports, Shanice Beckford, gave fans a false sense of security about her perspectives with Fowler-Nembhard on maternity leave. Especially when the Malawi Mwai Kumwenda veteran and veteran continues working in his physical state after having a baby last July. She has not played a complete super netball game yet.

Two weeks after its official campaign, the fever has lost its opening matches for 31 combined points and scored less goals than any other team (103).

He says a lot about the dependence of the Fowler-Nembhard team that his season now depends on his return. In the last month, he has indicated his desire to return and play after tragically losing his baby in January.

Netball Australia clarified that when Fower-Nembhard has returned, Kumwenda will become a training partner and will continue to be paid the same salary as his reproduction contract. This is covered by insurance money and is outside the salary limit.

So how fast we could see Fower-Nembhard arrive on the court? And how powerful it will be after being lost all the preseason with the rest of your team?

No exact date has been blocked, but the club has confirmed that it has already completed the four -week notice required to return to the maternity leave work. As soon as the high performance staff and the team doctor will be available for the selection.

With a round divided below, the fever also has an additional week under the sleeve, which means that Fowler-Nembhard could return inside the fortnight to play the foxes in Melbourne.

The former Firebirds take a shot

The Firebirds have had their best beginning in Super Netball and from the outside, the vibrations are high under New Coach Wills and the new captains Hulita Veve and Ruby Bakewell-Dordan.

Clearly, fans feel that they are on their way to having an excellent year too, since the crowd of 4,526 on Saturday in Queensland State Netball Center established a record of assistance for their first game at home in a season.

There is much to celebrate while trying to leave behind the agitation of last season, but what brings together the result in our eyes was the disappointing attitude of the club’s legends.

In an effort to repair the team’s environment, Wills sat in the game group and made them see the victories of the Tasman Premier of Firebirds of 2015 and 2016.

The club’s legacy was at its highest point. They were the only team that won consecutive titles in the Combined League of Australia and New Zealand that worked between 2008 and 16.

The previous champions of this era Laura Geitz and Kim Ravaillion were part of these teams and have always been respected among the community because of the way they left everything in the line.

The young Netballers idolized them. They were also popular for their brilliant image. You could suggest that their ability to give them the line won Brownie points with which the game ran.

In the middle of the 2024 chaos, when BEC Bulley and the Firebirds separated with five weeks to play, Captain Ravaillion led the media and denied that there were some animosity between the players and the coach, although multiple sources confirmed otherwise.

Defender Remi Kamo and the donnell Wallam shooter were not signed. Both went abroad for a new beginning and Kamo filed an official complaint about the club’s culture.

The weekend, Geitz and Ravaillion seemed to make fun of the couple’s experience when they shared an Instagram story of the players singing the team’s song with the title: “I think the culture is in quite safe hands.”

Yes, the club may have delivered a new sheet, thanks to the new leadership and coaching staff. But making this comment publicly is another instance of Firebirds key figures that suggest that there is nothing to do here and undermines the experiences of annoying players.

Romelda Aiken-George, Beryl Friday and Helena Saunders are other examples of Firebirds that have left the club about their history in bad terms.

Athletes must be encouraged to speak and follow the complaint process when they feel that something is wrong, not ridiculed. This geitz and ravaillion taking only reinforces the narrative of the uproar and the dynamics of unjust power currently in sport.

Diamonds under the microscope

There has been a lot of criticism about the lack of will of face Koenen to try super two -point shots in the last two seasons. Koenen herself admitted last week that if she does not start putting them, she will become redundant.

In warm -up, you can often see that Koenen can shoot comfortably from that distance, but there are doubts and uncertainty in the game live.

All this additional pressure seems to have taken Koenen out of his game and when you grieve that with his struggles against Sterling-Humphrey on Sunday, it is clear that he is not in the best way.

To remove the heat from the shooter and take a wider look at the team, there is something to say about the shape of their other diamond players.

Both defender Bruce and Liz Watson left Super Netball clubs in which they had been joining the Lightning in 2024 under coach Belinda Reynolds.

Neither of them has done innovative things since the turn. In fact, it seems that his game has retreated.

Watson can still be with 41 feeds, but the Australian captain has had 12 ball losses in two games, more than any other ray player. There were game calls and some occasions when Watson tried to feed the shooters and passed the ball directly to the Humphrey sterlina.

Bruce has fought against injuries. He almost got a complete game on Sunday (an gain), but his 21 -year -old successor Ash Ervin was more impressive in the goalkeeper (five profits) and only awarded 28 minutes of game time. Bruce was also the most penalized player on the court (18).

Does Koenen need to lift his game? Absolutely. But why is the conversation about its form so strong at this time compared to these other diamonds?