RD6 FEVER v THUNDERBIRDS, Suncorp Super Netball 2023, RAC Arena, 23 APRIL 2PM AWST

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FROM THE COACH

With two more wins on the road in Rounds 4 and 5 against the Swifts and Firebirds, it’s great to be back home for Round 6. Green Army, we have missed you!

It’s been a fantastic start to the season by the team with all 10 players getting on court and contributing to the team’s success.

Our 11-goal win over the NSW Swifts was one of our best so far and a great way to celebrate Sunday Aryang’s 50th match. We backed it up with a twogoal win over the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane.

Today, we are gunning for our sixth consecutive win of the season and to do so we are going to have to step it up a level. It’s going to be a tough one, as we face off against the second placed Adelaide Thunderbirds in a top of the table clash.

The Thunderbirds are real contenders this season and have firepower all through the court and we can’t wait to test ourselves against them.

Today is also a very special day for the club as we celebrate the 150th National League Game of Fever legend ‘Vezzie’ Simmons. Our midcourt dynamo and 2022 premiership player will join a very elite group of athletes to reach this milestone in the green dress. We are so proud of Vez and all she has achieved throughout her incredible career and I’m sure she’ll put out a cracking performance today. Congratulations Vez, you truly are one of a kind!

I’d like to welcome the Thunderbirds to Perth, led by Head Coach Tania Obst and Captain Hannah Petty. We look forward to a fierce and exciting game of netball today. Two in form teams going head-to-head, it’s going to be an absolute blockbuster.

So GREEN ARMY, it’s game time and we need you in full voice! So, get behind us, believe in us and let’s turn RAC Arena into our Fortress!

Dan Ryan Head Coach WEST COAST FEVER

Thank you to our 2023 sponsors

Verity Simmons

DOB: 19 May 1991

Place of Birth: Liverpool, NSW

Height: 170cm

Position: C, WA

Test Caps: 3

Previously Played: West Coast Fever 2012-13 and 2016-current, Queensland Firebirds 2014-15

National League Debut: 2012

National League Games: 149

WCF Debut: 2012

First Junior Club: Grafton

First started playing Netball: Aged 5

Occupation/Area of Study: Personal Trainer and Youth Worker

Netball Highlight: Fever winning a grand final and playing for Australian Diamonds

Favourite Movie: The Guardian, Gridiron Gang and Moana

Favourite Book: Facebook, I’m not a huge reader

Favourite Food: Salmon poke bowl from Trigg Canteen

Favourite Holiday: Yet to be confirmed so much to see!

Favourite TV show/Series: Kingdom

Signature Dance Move: Whatever I am feeling at the time or what tunes or on

Hobbies/Interests: Active give me active all day!! Sun, beach and music

Biggest SSN Rival: Vixens

Toughest Opponent: Every player is different with a stronger skill set than the other I couldn’t pick just one

Fever hold on in Brisbane

Last weekend, West Coast Fever hung on to win a nailbiter at Nissan Arena in Brisbane 73-71 against the Queensland Firebirds.

Trailing by seven goals at the final change, the Firebirds stormed home in Power 5 of the final quarter to reduce the margin to two goals.

Moments That Mattered

The Fever came to play in the first quarter and jumped out of the blocks building a 10-goal buffer going into the first change. It was a buffer which would prove vital as the game progressed.

Quarter by Quarter

Q1: WCF 25 | FIREBIRDS 15

Verity Simmons, Alice Teague-Neeld and Sasha Glasgow were at their energetic best as they fed Jhaniele Fowler who went into the quarter break with 19 goals.

Rudi Ellis was injected into the game halfway through the quarter when Captain Courtney Bruce rolled an ankle.

Q2: WCF 43 | FIREBIRDS 30

As Bruce returned to the court, Fever continued to control the contest as the Firebirds increased their defensive pressure.

Coach Dan Ryan reshuffled the defence with Ellis coming back into Goal Keeper and Bruce moving out to Goal Defence. Ellis helped to quell the influence of Firebirds Shooter Donnell Wallam with two Gains, two Deflections and a Rebound in the last six minutes of play.

Q3: WCF 58 | FIREBIRDS 51

The Firebirds started the second half strong with the first three goals before Fever responded as their defensive pressure lifted.

By the time Coach Ryan called a timeout leading into Power 5, Fever were in front by 12 goals. However, it was the Firebirds after the resumption that lifted their intensity to force errors from Fever.

A strong Power 5 from the home side reduced the Fever lead to seven at the final change.

Q4: WCF 73 | FIREBIRDS 71

The game lifted in intensity in the final quarter as the Firebirds chased down the Fever. Both sides traded control of the contest as Fever maintained their seven-goal lead going into Power 5.

Wallam then nailed four supershots to put the Fever under pressure and reduce the margin to two goals with seconds remaining.

Stats

Goals: Fowler 60 | Wallam 55

Super Shots: Glasgow 3 | Wallam 7

Goal Assists: Teague-Neeld 24 | Gardner 15

Feeds: Teague-Neeld 35 | Gardner 18

Centre Pass Receives: Teague-Neeld 28 | Dunkley 31

Deflections: Bruce 5 | Bakewell-Doran 5

Gains: Bruce 5 | Bakewell-Doran 4

Say Hi to Feverella!

National Netball Championships Two medals for WA at NNC

Western Australia’s two underage Netball teams have secured medals at the recent National Netball Championships in Darwin.

WA entered the championships with teams which bolstered a large number of bottom age players and the results has shown that the future of WA Netball is extremely bright.

After finishing second in the round robin, the 19/U Team won through to the Gold Medal match against the undefeated South Australia by defeating Victoria by 11 goals in their semi-final clash.

The final was a tight affair with the sides tied at quarter time before the South Australians took a three-goal lead into the half time break.

WA responded in the third quarter to trail by one goal with one quarter remaining.

However, it was the undefeated South Australian outfit who took advantage of some critical moments early in the fourth quarter when WA did not execute to record an 11-goal victory.

Coach Karly Guadagnin said the team stuck to their brand and kept hitting their targets throughout the whole week.

“Our team was hungry and focused at Nationals this year and really performed in the moments of games with high scoring power. They were united as a team and were driven by our CHAMPS mentality!” Guadagnin said.

“We had specific targets we wanted to meet each game and one of them was to score 10 goals plus

each quarter and keep our opposition to under 10 goals each quarter. As well as high scoring power we were focused at converting our possession throughout the games and building pressure in defence.

“We continued to talk about outsmarting, outworking and outlasting our oppositions in each game. We needed to ensure we were in the moments and executing and being aware of what we look like at our best was vital as well as having a championship mindset.

“Our full court defensive pressure was really tough for teams to attack against and we used this to our advantage.

“Our scoring power from our shooters was amazing and Georgie Cleaver was exceptional for us all week.”

While the 17/U Team secured bronze after going agonisingly close to playing off in the Gold Medal match.

The team finished the round-robin section in fourth place with four wins from their seven matches to set up a battle with top placed Queensland for a spot in the Gold Medal match. Queensland were undefeated heading into the clash with WA and took an early lead into quarter time after a couple of errors late from WA. WA fought back strongly in the second quarter to be down by one goal at half-time.

However, Queensland came out firing in the third scoring five goals in a row to put pressure on the WA team.

WA lifted in the last quarter and outscored the Queenslanders 11-5 to force the game into extra time. Nothing separated the sides after extra time, the match continued until one of the teams led two goals, and it was Queensland who rebounded a missed shot from WA and score off their centre pass to win the match.

The following day, WA faced off against Victoria for bronze and didn’t let the disappointment of the Queensland loss affect them. They jumped the Vics to lead by six goals at the first break off the back of converting five of eight positive gains.

The team looked composed and experienced in the second half especially when Victoria made changes in an attempt to disrupt the West Australians’ play. When challenged the WA side rose to the challenge to come away eight-goal winners to secure the Bronze Medal.

Coach Guy Keane said the championships showed the future of West Australian Netball was bright with

the emergence of some future stars and strong development from the team over the course of the week.

“Young Halle Richards is only 14 years of age, she turns 15 in June, and she stood up all week against some strong assertive defenders who were two to three years older than her,” Keane said.

“Her Bronze medal match performance of 22/23 at 95 per cent was testament of her ability to compete strongly at this level.”

Keane also paid tribute to Captain Clara Wigley who was an elite presence over the whole tournament.

“Clara showed composure in attack, driving strongly to circle edge consistently and her relentless defensive pressure combined with an ability to intercept and win the ball just when her team needs her was vital for us all week.

“She is an inspirational leader on court and she had an incredible championship as a bottom age athlete who will only get better and better in the future.”

LAST time they met

Fever celebrate with final round win over Thunderbirds

West Coast Fever celebrated a pair of individual milestones with a 68-57 win over the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the final round of the 2022 season at RAC Arena when these two sides last met.

Goal Shooter Jhaniele Fowler set a new record for the most goals by an individual in a season, while star defender Stacey Francis-Bayman notched up her 100th National League Game.at Wing Attack with 35 goal assists from 48 feeds.

Key Moments

Fowler broke her own record for the most individual goals in a regular season of 795, scoring her 796th goal in the fourth quarter to a huge roar from the 8,009 Green Army fans in attendance. She extended the

record to 800 with three minutes left and finished the game with 44 goals to set the new record at 804.

Quarter By Quarter

1st – WCF 20 | THU 15

Fever took an early four-goal lead with Courtney Bruce and Sunday Aryang creating opportunities from defence with intercepts and deflections. At the other end of the court, Fever’s shooters were both on target early, with Fowler scoring nine goals and Sasha Glasgow eight, including three supershots, to extend the home side’s lead to five at the first break.

2nd – WCF 10 | THU 13

The Thunderbirds started the second quarter with tight defence, slowing down Fever’s avenue to goal to draw level and then take the lead. With Fowler being double-teamed in the attacking circle, Glasgow kept the scoreboard ticking over before leaving the court in the final minutes with a bleeding knee. Leading by three points heading into the Power 5, Fever maintained a 30-28 lead after a low-scoring second quarter.

3rd – WCF 19 | THU 12

Francis-Bayman came on at Goal Defence to start the third quarter in her 100th National League game, with Sunday Aryang moving out to Wing Defence and Jess Anstiss to Centre.

The Thunderbirds continued applying strong defensive pressure but Fever matched them at the other end, with Bruce racking up deflections and gains to help her side increase its lead to 49-40.

4th – WCF 19 | THU 17

Fever came out firing in the fourth to increase their lead to 12 but the Thunderbirds continued fighting. Fowler broke the record for the most goals by an individual player in a season with eight minutes remaining and Bruce increased her defensive stats to 12 Deflections, seven Gains and three Intercepts as Fever ran out 11-goal winners.

ROUND 6 FEVER VS Thunderbirds

PREVIOUS MEETINGS Fever vs thunderbirds

ROUND 14, 2022 – RAC ARENA

FEVER 68 DEFEATED THUNDERBIRDS 57

ROUND 11, 2021 – RAC ARENA

FEVER 69 DEFEATED THUNDERBIRDS 44

ROUND 7, 2022 – NETBALL SA STADIUM

THUNDERBIRDS 51 LOST TO FEVER 60

ROUND 4, 2021 – NETBALL SA STADIUM

THUNDERBIRDS 62 LOST TO FEVER 70

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LATEST LADDER

Courtney Bruce GK • GD

Lucy Austin gs • ga

Jess Anstiss WD•C

eleanor cardwell ga • gs

Sunday Aryang GD • WD

tippah dwan ga • gs

Emma Cosh WA • GA

matilda garret gk • GD

Rudi Ellis GK georgie horjus ga • WA

Jhaniele Fowler GS

MAISIE NANKIVELL c • WA

KIM JENNER GD • GK • Wd

HANNAH PETTY WD • C

Sasha Glasgow GS • GA

SHAMERA STERLING Gk • Gd

Verity simmons WA • C

TAYLA WILLIAMS c • WD • WA

Alice Teague-Neeld GA • WA

LATANYA WILSON GD • WD • GK

Tania Obst

Dan Ryan

Head Coach

Head Coach

Match Preview

RAC Arena will play host to a top of the table clash between West Coast Fever and Adelaide Thunderbirds in Round Six of Suncorp Super Netball on Sunday.

LAST WEEK

Fever keep their undefeated start to the season intact with a two-goal victory over the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane.

The reigning premiers came out hot against the Firebirds and built a 10-goal lead at quarter time which was extended to 13 at the main change.

The second half saw the Firebirds lift and by the time Power 5 came around in the last quarter they were only seven goals behind. Firebirds Shooter Donnell Wallam scored four supershots in the last quarter to nearly steal the win.

The Thunderbirds are coming off an 11-goal win over the Melbourne Vixens at home.

After a slow start, the Thunderbirds lifted their intensity to draw level at the first change.

They then controlled the contest and built on their lead in every quarter to set up the top of the table clash with Fever.

MATCH UPS

The battles in circle at either end of the court will be enthralling contests. Will it be the match-up between English International Eleanor Cardwell and Aussie Diamond

Courtney Bruce or will it be the battle of the Jamaicans Jhaniele Fowler and Shamera Sterling which decides this game?

RD6

- RAC ARENA

SUN 23 APRIL 2PM

LIVE ON Foxtel, Kayo and Kayo Freebies

Sterling leads the competition for Nissan Net Points while Fowler is the leading goal shooter. Sterling had eight Gains and eight Deflections to help stop the Vixens attack last week. While Fowler shot 60 from 61 to help secure the points for Fever in Brisbane.

Cardwell has been in red hot form and is coming off 30 goals and five from six supershots against the Vixens and her presence on court has been vital for the Thunderbirds.

Bruce is coming off a top performance against the Firebirds where she was opposed to Wallam at stages. She finished the match five Gains, two Intercepts, five Deflections and three Rebounds.

Facts & Stats

Fever midcourter Verity Simmons will celebrate game 150 against the Thunderbirds.

Simmons debuted for Fever in 2012 and after two seasons crossed over to the Firebirds between 2014 and 2015. She returned to Fever in 2016 and has been a mainstay in the midcourt ever since.

Along with her 149 National League Games, she has also represented Australia on three occasions and was of course, part of Fever’s maiden Premiership Team.

Coach Dan Ryan will coach his 50th National League Game against his old side. Ryan coached the Thunderbirds for 28 games and will coach Fever for the 22nd time to notch the milestone.

What’S On

FEVER ALLEY

Fortescue invite you to Reach For Real Zero and test your skills against our West Coast Fever players with a vertical leap challenge!

Test your knowledge of jobs in the Gold Industry with our memory game and go in the chance to win some amazing prizes including tickets to our next home game and season tickets for 2024.

Have your face painted in gold and help make RAC Arena sparkle thanks to the Gold Industry Group

Practice the accuracy of your passing on the West Coast Fever inflatable!

Pose with life size cut outs of Dan Ryan and the 2023 West Coast Fever team thanks to our Elite Partner LiveLighter.

Are you a future Fever player? Visit the Woolworths NetSetGO activation to test your netball skills.

IN-GAME ACTIVATIONS

QUARTER TIME

Check out the big screen and use the QR Code to play Mazda’s Guess Who?

See if you can correctly answer all the questions for your chance to win a $200 West Coast Fever merchandise voucher.

HALF TIME

Walking Netball is brought to us today by Noranda Netball Association. For more information about walking netball, visit the Netball WA website.

THREE QUARTER TIME

Keep your eyes on the big screen at three quarter time for your chance to win Mazda’s Best Seats in the House, scan the QR code and enter your details for your chance to win!

ANZAC DAY SERVICE

Please join us for our ANZAC Service supported by Legacy WA and the Australia Defence Force.

Legacy strives to ensure that the partners and children of veterans who gave their lives or health in recognised military service can fully realise their potential.

Make sure you’re in your seats early and don’t miss the service which will commence at 1.25pm.

Post Game Presentations

KEY TIMINGS

12.45pm – Doors Open

1.20pm – Arena Call On

1.28pm – Welcome to Country

1.29pm – ANZAC Ceremony

1.37pm – Coin Toss

1.38pm – Warm Up Commences

1.58pm – Starting 7 Call On 2pm – First Pass

Green Army please stay around after the match as we have some very special presentations to make to Verity Simmons after her 150th Game, Dan Ryan after Game 50 as a SSN Coach and Sunday Aryang who celebrated her 50th game against the NSW Swifts in Round 4.

sunday Aryang

DOB: 25 December 2000

Place of Birth: Dimma, Ethiopia

Height: 184 cm

Position: GD, WD, GK

Test Caps: 8

National League Debut: 2019

National League Games: 51

First Junior Club: Illusions Netball Club

First started playing Netball: Aged 12

Occupation/Area of Study: Aged Care Support Worker

Netball Highlight: 2022 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal and 2022 West Coast Fever Premiership

Favourite Movie: Black Panther

Favourite Book: It Ends with Us

Favourite Food: Injera. It’s an Ethiopian dish that my mum makes

Favourite Holiday: Greece

Favourite TV show/Series: The Blacklist

Signature Dance Move: I like to freestyle it

Hobbies/Interests:Travelling and adventure

Biggest SSN Rival: Vixens

Toughest Opponent: Gretel Bueta