Month: November 2020

Words By Cameron Tenardi. Image by Sport in Digital.

USC Thunder faced the USQ Jets in the HART Sapphire series preliminary final on Saturday night. The victor will go on to face the Cougars in the grand final, whilst the loser’s season is over. Thunder were riding high after defeating the Wildcats last week and entered the match on the back of five consecutive wins. Thunder submitted an unchanged line-up from last week.

Thunder had the opening centre pass and converted through Annie Lawrie. Ash Unie made an intercept on the next play allowed Hunt to score her first of the match as well. Unie made a second intercept within a minute of her first which allowed Lawrie to score a beautiful goal. After only a few minutes Thunder had the upper hand with a five-goal lead. Jets scored three in a row, but Thunder responded immediately with three of their own. The remainder of the quarter was relatively even, and Thunder enter the first break with a 5 goal advantage. Jets had the first centre pass of the second quarter but immediately hand it over thanks to a Keefe intercept. Woulf made an intercept of her own soon after. Despite plenty of action, the first goal didn’t come until after 2 minutes of play when Jets scored, and Thunder responded through Hunt. It was a relatively quiet quarter by Thunder, only scoring 9 goals to Jets 15 as Jets entered half time with a one goal advantage.

Thunder started poorly in the third quarter conceding 8 of the first 9 goals. Lawrie found her distance and scored a couple of beautiful goals, but the girls still trail by 8. Keefe had been exceptional since coming on at GK and a forced turnover aided in a much-needed change of momentum. Thunder scored 5 in a row, and seven of the last eight to enter the final break down by only two. Thunder again gave up the early start allowing the Jets to stretch out to a five-goal lead. Thunder responded with five in a row to even the scores up at 44-44. Lawrie shone under pressure and shot from everywhere in the closing stages and Thunder desperately fought to keep their season alive. Jets were defending exceptionally well which made service into the goal circle difficult and unfortunately Thunder fell just short. Jets won the match 51-48, knocking USC out of the finals.

A preliminary final appearance capped off an exceptional season by USC Thunder who made the finals series for the first time. The girls played excellent netball at the back end of the season and were only really let down by a quiet second quarter during this match. With many of the girls going on to play elsewhere in 2021 it would have felt nice for them to bring some great results for Thunder this season. Although Thunder is now out of the competition, the Grand Final between USQ Jets and Brisbane North Cougars will be played on Saturday the 21^st November.

Q1: Jets 11 – Thunder 16

Q2: Jets 26 (15) – Thunder 25 (9)

Q3: Jets 39 (13) – Thunder 37 (12)

Q4: Jets 51 (12) – Thunder 48 (11)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Annie Lawrie, GA – Binnian Hunt, WA – Ali Wilshier, C – Chloe Litherland, WD – Ash Unie, GD – Lily-May Catling, GK – Sarahpheinna Woulf.

Substitutes: Chloe Bingham, Josie Hungerford, Adrienne Keefe

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 Sport in Digital.

This past Saturday saw the USC Thunder face the QUT Wildcats in a Knockout Semi-Final match. The Wildcats are the defending champions; however, Thunder are in a rich vein of form and have defeated the South Brisbane side once already this season. Annie Lawrie started the game at GS, Binnian Hunt in GA, Ali Wilshier in WA, Chloe Litherland in C, Ash Unie in WD, Lily-May Catling in GD and Sarahpheinna Woulf at GK.

Thunder had the opening centre pass and scored the first two goals of the game through Lawrie. After only 7 minutes, Thunder had already stretched out to an impressive five goal lead and looked ready to run away with the game. Wildcats responded and closed to within two goals before Thunder entered the first break with a 13-10 lead. Thunder scored first in the second quarter as well, however a strong run by the Wildcats saw them close the lead to only one goal. Thunder responded by calling a timeout with under seven minutes to go in the half. Thunder were strong after the timeout and quickly extended their margin back out to five before settling at three as the break arrived with Thunder leading 25-22.

Thunder had the opening centre pass of the third quarter and immediately stretched their lead out to six goals after Lawrie scored three in a row. Wildcats again close the gap down to three but were immediately stifled by another impressive Thunder run. Hunt converted an opportunity that saw Thunder lead by 7 goals before they entered the final break up by 4. Thunder scored two goals through Lawrie to open the final stanza. It was a messy start to the quarter, but Thunder took advantage and once again lead by 7. Wildcats called a timeout with 9 minutes to go before Thunder called one five minutes later, now leading by 10. Thunder withstood a Wildcats comeback to eventually claim a four-goal victory, taking them through to the next round of finals.

Thunder played an exceptionally controlled game that saw them claim a well deserved victory. Despite the Wildcats continuously chopping down the sizeable leads that Thunder regularly built, the girls kept their composure and lead from start to finish. Lily-May Catling was huge in defence, whilst Chloe Litherland was once again exceptional through the middle. Thunder will now take on the Ipswich Jets in the Preliminary Final for a place in the Grand Final. The game starts at 6pm on Saturday November 14^th at Nissan Arena.

Q1: Thunder 13 – Wildcats 10

Q2: Thunder 25 (12) – Wildcats 22 (12)

Q3: Thunder 39 (14) – Wildcats 35 (13)

Q4: Thunder 49 (10) – Wildcats 45 (10)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Annie Lawrie, GA – Binnian Hunt, WA – Ali Wilshier, C – Chloe Litherland, WD – Ash Unie, GD – Lily-May Catling, GK – Sarahpheinna Woulf.

Substitutes: Chloe Bingham, Josie Hungerford, Adrienne Keefe

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 Sport in Digital.

This past weekend saw a double header in the HART Sapphire Series, with round 9 taking place on the Saturday followed by round 10 on the Sunday.

USC Thunder entered the weekend in phenomenal form, defeating the defending champions the Wildcats in round 7 before taking the scalp of the top of the table Cougars in round 8.

Round 9 saw the girls take on the 6^th placed Carina Leagues Club Tigers. Annie Lawrie (GS), Binnian Hunt (GA), Josie Hungerford (WA), Ali Wilshier (C), Chloe Litherland (WD), Ash Unie (GD) and Sarahpheinna Woulf (GK) made up the starting side.

Thunder had the first centre pass and scored five goals in a row before the Tigers coach called an early timeout after less than four minutes. Tigers make a comeback to even the scores up at 6-6 before Thunder stretch back out and claim the first quarter 17-10. A second impressive quarter by Thunder saw them claim the second available bonus points by 8 goals, with Ash Unie in particular playing exceptionally. They entered the major break up by 15.

The second half was a far closer affair, with Thunder claiming the third quarter by only three goals before falling three goals short in the fourth. The girls took a 15-goal victory and claimed three quarter victories to lock in a semi-final appearance.

Round 10 saw Thunder take on the Bond University Bullsharks in the battle of the coasts. Thunder made a few changes to their round 9 team, with Wilshier starting at WA, Litherland at C, and Lily-May Catling re-joining the team in WD.

The first quarter started as a close battle as the two sides took turns at holding the lead. Thunder’s defensive performances however saw the USC side stretch out towards the end of the quarter and claim the first bonus points by 5 goals. The Bullsharks started the second quarter impressively, scoring the first two goals before three by Lawrie returned the advantage to Thunder. Bullsharks called a timeout with seven minutes to go before the sides battled their way to a drawn quarter. The sides shared the bonus points, but Thunder held a 5-goal lead at half time.

Thunder had the centre pass for the third quarter and scored three consecutive goals to claim the advantage. Bullsharks scored a couple to reduce the margin, but Thunder then settled in after missing a few goals and enter the final break with a 10-goal lead after claiming the quarter by 5. The rivals went goal for goal throughout most of the final quarter as the margin floated at around 10 goals for several minutes. Thunder called a timeout with about 7 minutes to go as the Bullsharks had been holding the quarter lead most of the time since the break, but a strong finish by Thunder saw USC claim the quarter by three goals and take a 13-goal victory.

Two wins in two days to end the regular season saw USC Thunder take third place on the HART Sapphire Series ladder heading into finals. Thunder will now face the QUT Wildcats in the knockout Semi-Final on Saturday November 7 at 5pm at the Morayfield Sports & Events Centre.

All the girls played exceptional netball over the weekend, with Unie and Woulf particularly strong as they lead from the back. Lawrie, Hunt and Bingham shot well both days whilst Chloe Litherland was my player of the double header after another strong performance through the middle.

Round 9

Q1: Tigers 10 – Thunder 17

Q2: Tigers 18 (8) – Thunder 33 (16)

Q3: Tigers 30 (12) – Thunder 48 (15)

Q4: Tigers 30 (15) – Thunder 60 (12)

Round 10

Q1: Thunder 15 – Bullsharks 10

Q2: Thunder 28 (13) – Bullsharks 23 (13)

Q3: Thunder 42 (14) – Bullsharks 32 (9)

Q4: Thunder 57 (15) – Bullsharks 44 (12)

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 Sport in Digital.

Round 8 of the Hart Sapphire Series saw the in-form USC Thunder face the undefeated Brisbane North Cougars at USC Stadium. Thunder were fresh off the back of their victory over reining champions the QUT Wildcats and entered the match against their far more fancied opponents filled with confidence.  Sarahpheinna Woulf started the match at GK, Lily-May Catling returned from injury to start at GD whilst captain Ash Unie started from WD. Ali Wilshier started at C, Josie Hungerford at WA, Binnian Hunt at GA, and Annie Lawrie was GS.

Cougars got off to a flying start, scoring first before pushing out to a 5-goal lead within minutes. Thunder recovered from their poor start, dragging the gap back to zero with little time remaining. Lawrie scored late in the quarter to claim the first period 14-13, taking the bonus points after an impressive early turnaround. Hunt scored Thunders first goal of the second quarter. A Woulf intercept allowed Lawrie to score and extend Thunders lead to three goals. Some Cougars pressure saw them even up the score as Thunder conceded three in a row. Thunder then increased their intensity, forcing multiple turnovers and stretching out to a 5-goal lead. Cougars called a timeout with four minutes to go in the half, but it made no difference to Thunder’s momentum as they extended their lead by three more, claiming the quarter by seven and holding an eight-goal lead at the major break. A massive effort by the underdogs.

Cougars scored first to start the second half, but their offence continued to be dismantled by the impressive defensive efforts of Catling, Woulf and Unie, with Lawrie even recording an intercept early on. Thunder were being a little careless with some of their passing decisions, which allowed Cougars to close the gap, but further forced turnovers by Woulf allowed Lawrie and Hunt to take advantage. Thunder steadied late to hold a six-goal lead heading into the final break despite missing out on the bonus points by two. Thunder scored first in the fourth quarter followed by a frenzy of quick plays in both directions. Hunt and Lawrie were both impressive when shooting and continued their good form late in the game. Forced turnovers by litherland and Woulf continued to provide opportunities to Thunder down court. Thunder called a timeout with seven minutes remaining after absorbing a high energy offence for several minutes. Thunder continued their phenomenal defence as the share the bonus points in the final quarter and claim an impressive six goal victory.

Cougars have been the form team all season having not lost once prior to facing USC Thunder. Thunder however entered the game with confidence and a plan, overcoming Cougars in a brilliant match. All the girls did their part, but exceptional performances from Woulf, Unie and Litherland allowed Thunder to lift their game to another level. They claimed the victory as well as bonus points from two quarter wins and a draw in the fourth quarter. As a result, Thunder have moved into third place on the ladder heading into round 9 and 10 which will be played as a double header on Saturday the 31^st of October and then Sunday 1^st of November.

Q1: Thunder 14 – Cougars 13

Q2: Thunder 31 (17) – Cougars 23 (10)

Q3: Thunder 42 (11) – Cougars 36 (13)

Q4: Thunder 54 (12) – Cougars 48 (12)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Annie Lawrie, GA – Binnian Hunt, WA – Josie Hungerford, C – Ali Wilshier, WD – Ash Unie, GD – Lily-May Catling, GK – Sarahpheinna Woulf.

Substitutes: Chloe Bingham, Chloe Litherland, Adrienne Keefe

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 Sport in Digital.

Round 7 of the HART Sapphire series has come and gone, and this past weekend saw the USC Thunder host defending champions, the QUT Wildcats. Thunder had most recently come away with a loss against the Jets in round 6 and would have really enjoyed the week off to recover. Chloe Bingham once again started at GS, Annie Lawrie at GA, Ali Wilshier at WA, Chloe Litherland at C, Ash Unie at WD, Sarahpheinna Woulf at GD, and Adrienne Keefe at GK.

Thunder had the opening centre pass of the game and scored first through Bingham. The Wildcats may be the defending champions, but Thunder showed more energy early on and ran away to an early 6-3 lead.  The Wildcats fought back to draw even, and after a couple more goals each way, that’s how the first quarter ended. Both teams scored a bonus point each as they entered the first break 9-9. The second quarter started with Wilshier moving to C, Litherland to WD, and Hungerford on at WA. Thunder scored first and drew ahead numerous times through the period. Thunder’s passing and defence was exceptional, however missed opportunities under the net made it difficult to stretch ahead. Thunder were holding on to a draw deep into the final minute, however Wildcats scored late to claim the bonus points and a 1 goal lead at the major break.

Wildcats had the centre pass to start the second half, however Woulf forced a turnover which resulted in a Bingham goal, shortly followed by a second. Thunder backed it up with a second straight turnover and a third consecutive goal. Ash Unie forced yet another turnover, making it three times in a row that Thunder broke the Wildcats centre pass to start the quarter. Thunder were showing energy and aggression unlike what we’ve seen of them all season. Unie, Keefe, Woulf and Litherland were all over the Wildcats offence whilst the girls up front were troubling their defence. Wildcats went on a small run as they scored three in a row to draw level, however yet another Litherland intercept allowed Thunder to return to the front foot. Goals to Lawrie and Bingham toward the end of the quarter saw Thunder claim the bonus points and held a two-goal lead into the final break. Wildcats opened the fourth quarter with the centre pass and two consecutive goals. Keefe forced a turnover to avoid falling behind, which allowed Lawrie and Bingham to take advantage with goals of their own. Wildcats called a timeout with 9 mins to go, but it achieved little as Lawrie scored three in a row to stretch Thunder’s lead to six goals. Wildcats then scored three of their own before Thunder responded with a timeout. Impressive end to end Netball saw Thunder move six goals ahead in the closing stages of the game with yet another Keefe forced turnover sealing the victory. Thunder won the game by six goals and claimed the final bonus points after taking the final quarter 13-11.

Thunder played an excellent game of netball against the Wildcats. Taking away the win and five bonus points against the reigning champions is no mean feat and something the girls will be proud of. Litherland in particular was exceptional in her cameo at WD, whilst Ruby player Lily McClure also got a run towards the game in what was her Sapphire series debut.

Coach Garry Pashen said after the game that it wasn’t just the final score that impressed him, but the way the girls took what they had done at training and incorporated it into their game.

“[I’m] obviously pleased about the result,” said Pashen.

“But what I’m probably more pleased about is the things that don’t get measured on the scoreboard.

“Their performance was the main thing, and obviously the scoreboard then took care of itself.”

Round 8 in a fortnight will see the Thunder take on the top of the table Cougars, a challenge that defensive star Sarahpheinna Woulf is excited to embrace.

“We didn’t start off as well as we wanted to, but we are performing right now,” Woulf said.

“I think if we trust in each other and keep building each week then they better watch out, you never know who we are going to be coming for.”

The Thunder now have a week off before facing the Cougars at USC Stadium on Saturday October 24 at 5pm.

Q1: Thunder 9 – Wildcats 9

Q2: Thunder 21 (12) – Wildcats 22 (13)

Q3: Thunder 34 (13) – Wildcats 32 (10)

Q4: Thunder 47 (13) – Wildcats 41 (11)

Thunder starting seven: GS – Chloe Bingham, GA – Annie Lawrie, WA – Ali Wilshier, C – Chloe Litherland, WD – Ash Unie, GD – Sarahpheinna Woulf, GK – Adrienne Keefe.

Substitutes: Binnian Hunt, Josie Hungerford, Lily McClure

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