Month: August 2019

Words By Cameron Tenardi. Image By Brad Walker

In round 10 of the HART Sapphire series, 6^th placed USC Thunder travelled to QSNC for an allocated away game against the top of the table Brisbane North Cougars. Thunder made a number of changes to the team from last week which included the return of Annika Lee-Jones at GK alongside Lily-May Catling in GD. Sarahpheinna Woulf swapped from GD to GS this week and was accompanied in the goal circle by Courtney Murphy (GA). Josie Hungerford in WA and Ash Unie in WD remained in their preferred positions, whilst Nicole Guenther started the match at C.

Thunder opened the scoring with three consecutive goals before Cougars got on the board. Uncharacteristic errors by the home team allowed Thunder to retain their lead for most of the first quarter. An unfortunate injury timeout for Josie Hungerford stopped play whilst she was replaced at WA by Chloe Litherland. Woulf displayed her skill and versatility by scoring goals and forcing turnovers from GS. Thunder fell nine goals short of the bonus points by the end of the first quarter but were much closer in the second. Cougars called a timeout mid-way through with the quarter scores tied at 7 goals apiece. Thunder called their own timeout three minutes later after conceding a couple of fast goals.  Some great defensive touches by the girls at the back allowed Thunder some opportunities as the half closed, falling only five goals short of bonus points.

Cougars flexed their muscles throughout the second half which reflected poorly for Thunder on the score sheet. Thunder were far stronger than the score suggested with numerous promising plays going unrewarded. Allen, Catling and Unie were the key defensive players throughout the half and were handling the Cougars attack well, forcing multiple turnovers and making lots of touches on the ball, however the Cougars were passing fast and shooting well, which was difficult to defend against. Woulf made some clever plays at GA which GS Bingham could take advantage of. The mid court was a bit of a battleground with both teams struggling to move the ball up to the goal circles.

Thunder may be feeling deflated after the result, but the Cougars are top of the table and are undefeated; they were always going to be a tough ask to beat. Thunder showed plenty of determination in the second half to keep putting in the effort despite the score line. The girls challenged the Cougars right up to the final buzzer. Injury and forced changes have decimated the Thunder side who have comfortably used more players this season than any other team in the competition. Thunder face the 7^th placed Northern Rays in round 11 as an allocated home game at QSNC. They defeated Rays in the first match up earlier this year and will be confident of repeating that result.

Q1: Cougars 19 – Thunder 10

Q2: Cougars 35 (16) – Thunder 21 (11)

Q3: Cougars 55 (20) – Thunder 30 (9)

Q4: Cougars 75 (20) – Thunder 38 (8)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Sarahpheinna Woulf, GA – Courtney Murphy, WA – Josephine Hungerford, C – Nicole Guenther, WD – Ashlee Unie, GD – Lily-May Catling, GK – Annika Lee-Jones

Substitutes: Chloe Bingham, Chloe Litherland, Sienna Allen

Next match

Thunder vs Rays, QSNC, Saturday 31^st August, 1:30PM

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sapphire Series or its clubs

Words By Cameron Tenardi. Image By Brad Walker

USC Thunder played host to the Carina Leagues Club Tigers at USC Stadium over the weekend during round 9 of the HART Sapphire series. Thunder made a plethora of changes ahead of the match highlighted by the return of both Josie Hungerford (WA) and Jesse Wardlaw (GS) from injury. Sarahpheinna Woulf lined up in her preferred GD position alongside Sienna Allen at GK. Courtney Murphy came into the side at GA. Chloe Litherland reverted to her preferred position after playing WA in round 8, whilst captain Ashley Unie lined up at WD where she has been strong all season.

The game started at a frantic pace with both teams scoring on the back of broken play caused by turnovers. Tigers were attacking strongly throughout the first quarter but were struggling to score past Thunders aggressive defence. Plenty of intercepts and rebounds from Allen and Woulf allowed Thunder numerous opportunities to pressure the Tigers defenders. Tigers got the better of Thunder by the end of the quarter and held the advantage into the second as they built a strong lead. Thunder however reacted by going on a fantastic run, scoring five goals to one before a tactical time out was called as half time approached. Thunder were starting to get comfortable with their new combinations, which delivered results. After being down two goals to ten early in the quarter, they came back to only miss the bonus points by three. A very impressive display. Ash Unie at WD continuously displayed her class and poise with some incredible displays of defence and passing, whilst the girls in the circle were converting plenty of opportunities with their shooting skills.

Thunder opened the second half with the same vigour they closed the first with, scoring three consecutive goals and played with some real chemistry. The third quarter went down to the wire, and an energized Thunder looked every chance to fight for the bonus points in the fourth as well. Defence took centre stage in the final stanza, highlighted by a multitude of defensive rebounds, defensive touches of the ball, and a torrent of intercepts. The players in the middle of the court were involved in an incredible power tussle which required Unie, Litherland and Hungerford to use every ounce of skill and experience they had to retrieve turnovers and feed passes into the goal circle. It was fast and exciting netball to end the match.

Thunder will be travelling to QSNC in round 10 for an allocated away game against the top of the table Brisbane North Cougars.

Q1: Thunder 9 – Tigers 14

Q2: Thunder 21 (12) – Tigers 29 (15)

Q3: Thunder 32 (11) – Tigers 42 (13)

Q4: Thunder 38 (6) – Tigers 53 (11)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Jesse Wardlaw, GA – Courtney Murphy, WA – Josephine Hungerford, C – Chloe Litherland, WD – Ashlee Unie, GD – Sarahpheinna Woulf, GK – Sienna Allen

Substitutes: Chloe Bingham, Nicole Guenther, Lily-May Catling

Next match

Cougars vs Thunder, QSNC, Sunday 25^th August, 5:10PM

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sapphire Series or its clubs

Words By Cameron Tenardi. Image Supplied

Round 8 of the HART Sapphire series marked the start of the second half of the season. On Saturday August 10, 6^thplaced USC Thunder travelled to take on the 5^thplaced Bond University Bull Sharks for an allocated away game at QSNC. Thunder were forced into a number of positional changes leading on from last round due to player availability and injury. Nicole Guenther got a start at C after Chloe Litherland moved into WA to replace the injured Josephine Hungerford. Abigail Latu-Meafou, who last week travelled with the Queensland Firebirds in the Suncorp Super Netball, returned to the side at GA. Sarahpheinna Woulf moved to GS as Jesse Wardlaw had also been struck down by injury during the Jets match and Sienna Allen returned to the starting side at GK with Annika Lee-Jones back with the Sunshine Coast Lightning squad for their Round 12 Giants clash.

This was the second time the two sides had faced each other this season, with Thunder aiming to replicate their round one result where they had come out on top. Thunder unfortunately had to start on the back foot with their positional changes disrupting their chemistry, allowing the Bull Sharks to take a quick lead. Thunder quickly steadied the ship however and finished the first quarter strong and entered the second quarter with momentum. Being 6 points down didn’t seem to disrupt their game plan too much as they began to build their combinations and string some passes together. Litherland and Guenther were feeding some fantastic balls through to Woulf and Latu-Meafou, with both shooting well. Allen, Catling and Unie were playing great in defence, forcing Bull Sharks to work for every goal. The second quarter ended as the highest scoring of the game with Thunder down 35-22 at the main break.

Ruby series player, Olivia Lanskey who was elevated to the Sapphire squad alongside Ruby team mates Adrienne Keeffe and Chloe Bingham, entered the game at C at the commencement of the third quarter, whilst Latu-Meafou, who was yet to miss a shot, swapped with Woulf at GS. Unie continued to display her prowess on the court by forcing numerous turnovers in defence and creating wonderful goal scoring opportunities in attack. The third quarter was the closest of the game as a result of Thunder’s pressure, only falling four goals short. Thunder came out firing in the fourth quarter, desperate to claim the bonus points. Every player was significantly contributing and they were scoring well as a result. It was Thunder’s best quarter of the match in regard to polish and opportunities.

Thunder played entertaining Netball right up until the final buzzer. Their defence looks better every week whilst some electrifying offensive passing shows plenty of promise moving forward. Next round they will face the Tigers at home and will fancy their chances after a close match in round 2 earlier in the season.

Q1: Bull Sharks 16 – Thunder 10

Q2: Bull Sharks 35 (19) – Thunder 22 (12)

Q3: Bull Sharks 49 (14) – Thunder 32 (10)

Q4: Bull Sharks 64 (15) – Thunder 42 (10)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Sarahpheinna Woulf, GA – Abigail Latu-Meafou, WA – Chloe Litherland, C – Nicole Guenther, WD – Ashlee Unie, GD – Lily-May Catling, GK – Sienna Allen

Substitutes: Olivia Lanskey, Adrienne Keeffe, Chloe Bingham

Next match

Thunder vs Tigers, USC Stadium, Sunday 18^thAugust, 4:50PM

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sapphire Series or its clubs

Words By Cameron Tenardi. Image Supplied

Sunday August 4 saw the 4^th placed USC Thunder host the 2^nd placed Ipswich Jets at QSNC in round 7 of the HART Sapphire Series. Both teams, who met for the first time, were looking for wins to solidify their position in the top 4 as the competition nears toward the half-way mark. 

Thunder were without regular GS, Ellie Bird, who recently departed the Sapphire Series to commence an off-season in preparation for the ANZ Premiership pre-season, whilst GA, Abigail Latu-Meafou, was also unavailable due to Queensland Firebirds selection to take on the Giants in Round 11 of the Suncorp Super Netball.

Thunder had the first centre pass and the game started with three consecutive turnovers before the first goal was scored by the Jets. Both sides looked even as they passed the five-minute mark with Thunder holding a 4-3 lead. Annika Lee-Jones and Lily-May Catling were defending well and had already forced a couple of errors from the Jets. Sarahpheinna Woulf in GA and Jesse Wardlaw in GS combined well with Josie Hungerford and Chloe Litherland in WA and C to score a couple of impressive goals. Thunder fell behind but were in contact throughout the quarter and a strong final few minutes saw them sit only one goal behind at the break. A 12-13 quarter lead saw the Jets claim the first bonus points of the game.

Lee-Jones continued to be strong throughout the second quarter, supported by Sienna Allen in GD, with the pair applying pressure at every opportunity. Jets had a four-goal quarter lead when a timeout was called by Thunder just beyond five minutes into the quarter. Ruby series player Chloe Bingham replaced Wardlaw at GS after she picked up a match-ending injury. Hungerford also hobbled off the court with five minutes remaining and didn’t return to the game. It was a difficult quarter with injury forcing a number of positional changes which saw the Jets finish in front, 9-18.

Thunder had the first centre pass of the third quarter and started well, scoring four goals apiece with the Jets after five minutes. The Jets scored the next four and then the Thunder scored the next two after that. Jets had the advantage as a timeout was called with seven minutes remaining until the final break. Unie continued to display her excellent on-court vision with some fantastic passes into the goal circle for Bingham and Woulf. Thunder looked a chance of claiming the bonus points but fell only three goals short with Jets taking the quarter, 11-14.

Thunder again had the centre as the fourth quarter began. Jet’s began fast and pushed out to a 3-9 quarter lead. Thunder began to stem the flow of goals with Sienna Allen still giving it her all, forcing turnovers and creating opportunities. The rest of the team began to feed off her energy, scoring four consecutive goals towards the end of the game to reduce the margin at the final buzzer. Jets won the fourth quarter 12-16.

Thunder didn’t claim any bonus points throughout the game, however they showed plenty of grit and determination to fight right up until the final buzzer. Despite the final score, the girls in the goal circle shot at 83%, which was better than the Jets conversion rate, whilst in defence they forced an impressive 27 turnovers. 

Thunder’s round 8 match will be an allocated away game against the Bond University Bull Sharks who Thunder defeated in round one. They will be hoping to see a repeat of that result this weekend.

Q1: Thunder 12 – Jets 13

Q2: Thunder 21 (9) – Jets 31 (18)

Q3: Thunder 32 (11) – Jets 45 (14)

Q4: Thunder 44 (12) – Jets 61 (16)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Jesse Wardlaw, GA – Sarahphienna Woulf, WA – Josephine Hungerford, C – Chloe Litherland, WD – Ashlee Unie, GD – Lily-May Catling, GK – Annika Lee-Jones

Substitutes: Sienna Allen, Nicole Guenther, Chloe Bingham

Next match

Bull Sharks v Thunder, QSNC, Saturday 10^th August, 5:30PM

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sapphire Series or its clubs