The Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League kick started with ten teams on the 21st April, it went down to six on the 28th of May and now there is only four teams left competing for the crown as South Africa’s top provincial netball.
This Saturday and Sunday at Bloemfontein’s Manguang Indoor Sports Centre the four remaining teams – the Gauteng North Jaguars, North West Flames, Gauteng Golden Fireballs and the Western Cape Southern Stings – will battle it out in the semi-finals for a spot in the final to win the ultimate prize – going to play in New Zealand’s club Championship next month.
This first semi-final match taking place on Saturday at 16:00 will see the mighty Jaguars take on the Stings. The fixture marks a third consecutive semi-final between the two teams, with the Jaguars being victors in all three. In fact, the Jaguars have a 100% winning record in semi-finals.
Related
The Jaguars as in the years 2014 and 2015 – ended first on the log with eight wins from nine matches, finishing with the same number of log points as the Flames, but having a better goal difference.
The previous encounter between the Jaguars and Stings in round 4 at Bellville concluded with 46-42 victory for the Jaguars and was a cracker of a game – a definite top three match of the round robin stage. The fixture was described by former Proteas captain Debbie Hamman, as one of the best matches she has witnessed in the last five years. The defence of both sides was something to marvel at.
Both teams have an abundance of depth and senior players the coaches can call on from the bench.
The key players for coach Jenny van Dyk’s Jaguars are goal shooter Ine-Marí Venter (shooting at 80%), centre and wing defence, Marlize de Bruin, captain fantastic Shadine van der Merwe who alters between goal defence and goal keeper Izette Griesel who has progressively demonstrated why she is a Protea. Chrisna van Zyl and Van der Merwe have also played for the Proteas before.
The Stings have four Proteas, namely Juline Rossouw, Phumza Maweni, Rochelle Loubser and Vanes-Mari du Toit who all have an important role to play in the team. Head coach, Annelie Lucas, has a very versatile team and plenty of options at her disposal. Goal shooter Jaumbuaije Zauana has been a revelation with an average of 84% at goal attempts.
The second semi-final will see the Flames square off with the Fireballs on Saturday at 18:00. This will be the first time these two teams square off in a play-off match. The Flames have been in all three previous semi-final rounds, losing all three.
Dorette Badenhorst, coach of the Flames, will be desperate to bring an end to this.
The Fireballs last qualified for the final four in 2014 when they narrowly came second to the Crinums. Whilst the Flames enjoyed a buy, the Gauteng team comprehensively won their quarterfinal against the Eastern Cape Aloes by 68-24. They undoubtedly have the most experienced team in the competition and their coach, Elsjé Jordaan, will be hoping her centre court continues with their good form.
The likes of Ané Botha (wing attack), Nadia Uys Pienaar (centre) and Zanele Vimbela (goal keeper) have helped create an average of 80 goal attempts per match for their shooters of which they converted an average of 78%. Goal shooter Deancke Rohde has been in top form, scoring 255 from 303 attempts for an average of 84%.
In five of the previous six encounters between the Flames and Fireballs a goal shooter/goal attack received the player of the match award.
In the corresponding fixture of round 2; red hot goal attack, Renske Stoltz walked away with the coveted player of the match prize.
She will again be of great significance for the Flames to win the match. Stoltz with her 225 from 286 attempts has built an impressive partnership with her wing attack, Kgomotso Itlhabanyeng and centre, Romé Dreyer.
Defenders Monique Reyneke and Simoné Rabie who were both selected for the Baby Proteas for next month’s Junior World Cup; along with goalkeeper, Zandré Erasmus – have all been in very good form and will have to be at their optimal best to claim the victory.
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
GAUTENG JAGUARS VS SOUTHERN STINGS NORTH WEST FLAMES VS FIREBALLS
o Total played: 6 games
o Jaguars win: 4
o Stings win: 2
o Average score: Jaguars 49-44 Stings
o Previous results:
o 2015: Stings 47-45 Jaguars
o 2015: Jaguars 45-33 Stings
o 2015: Jaguars 46-42 Stings (semi-final)
o 2016: Stings 56-50 Jaguars
o 2016: Jaguars 64-43 Stings (semi-final)
o 2017: Jaguars 46-42 Stings o Total played: 6 games
o Flames win: 4
o Fireballs win: 2
o Average score: Flames 52-44 Fireballs
o Previous results – Round Robin matches:
o 2014: Fireballs 47-46 Flames
o 2014: Flames 57-49 Fireballs
o 2015: Flames 50-39 Fireballs
o 2015: Flames 51-33 Fireballs
o 2016: Flames 65-48 Fireballs
o 2017: Fireballs 48-44 Flames
