The WA All-Stars mixed team celebrated the return of elite netball with a one-goal 60-59 victory over the West Coast Fever, playing in front of 4,204 fans at RAC Arena last night.
For The Fever, it has been 11 months since their last competitive outing and Head Coach Stacey Marinkovich said she was delighted that her side was able to get out on the court again.
“I think sports brings people together and I think it’s great that we are the first sport to be played in front of a crowd in WA”, she said.
“It’s a great reward for WA’s effort and what we are doing in and around our community.”
As The Fever took to court in a one-off retro Perth Orioles inspired dress, high pressure from the likes of Jess Anstiss, Courtney Bruce and Verity Charles inspired the home side to lead 15-13 at the first term.
Being introduced late in the first quarter, West Coast Warriors and WA All-Stars goal shooter Donnell Wallam kept her side in the game as she converted 17/17 goals in the second quarter.
Whilst showcasing WA’s best netballers, the pre-season clash also featured the ‘Super Shot’ rule, which is set to debut in August for the start of the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season.
The Super Shot rule counts as two goals and is applied during the last five minutes of each quarter, shooters must also score from a 1.9m designated zone within the goal circle.
With 49 goals and three Super Shots at the end of the match, WA All-Stars shooter Wallam said she enjoyed the challenges the new rule brought.
“I kinda like it, mainly because I come from a basketball background where we have the 3-point shot,” she said.
“In terms of my performance, I am gonna take every opportunity as they come and just enjoy it.”
The third quarter saw both sides experiment with positional rotations, including the introduction of young defender Sunday Aryang from The Fever, whom ran on to produce a number of strong intercepts.
Dylan McPherson from the All-Stars was also instrumental in the third quarter, with his quick feet and strong ball movement in the mid-court; his side took the lead for the first time at 48-44.
When the Super Shot rule activated in the final term, Fever attacker Alice Teague-Neeld fired three back-to-back Super Shot goals to get the home crowd roaring.
Helping her side chase down All-Stars to be within one goal in the final moments of the match, it showed the new rule does add as an element of excitement to matches.
As the season begins in two weeks, West Coast Fever and 2018 Joyce Brown Coach of The Year Stacey Marinkovich said there are positives to take from the first lost.
“You always want to take a win, but I think we got a lot of learning’s out of that,” she said.
“We’ve put the best of what we’ve got in WA [tonight] and it gave us a really great challenge.
“There was both physical and mental pressure, [and] that’s what we want going into round one.”
