Dream team: Who rates highest in the Sapphire Series dailymercury.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymercury.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Giants Netball season preview A Set the default text size A Set large text size
Replay A Set the default text size A Set large text size
Last season the Giants came sixth.
The biggest change to the Giants’ roster from 2020 is the loss of former Aussie Diamonds captain Caitlin Bassett. On paper that is a massive change. However, in 2020 Bassett struggled to receive court time and even resorted to reading books on the sideline.
It was implied (or assumed) this was a result of the introduction of the super shot. This reasoning does not hold much weight given similar style goal shooters like Jhaniele Fowler and Romelda Aiken still dominated, plus there were ten minutes per quarter where the super shot is not relevant. Therefore, there were other factors at play. It is good to see Bassett doing what she does best in 2021 with Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.
Premium Content
Subscriber only The employment of a councillor s wife at University of the Sunshine Coast put local government representatives in a difficult situation while considering conflicts of interest. Councillor Joe Natoli left the chambers during Thursday s Sunshine Coast Council meeting after his colleagues voted that he had a declared conflict of interest involving discussions on a sponsorship deal with Sunshine Coast Lightning. His wife, Rosanna Natoli, is a journalism and media lecturer at the university, which also is a part-owner of the netball team. The connection was raised by councillor Jason O Pray after he announced he would not take part in the vote due to two tickets worth $400 that he received from the Sunshine Coast Lightning CEO Danielle Smith.
Sunshine Coast Lightning season preview A Set the default text size A Set large text size
Replay A Set the default text size A Set large text size
In their first three seasons, the Sunshine Coast Lightning played in all three grand finals, including winning the first two titles. Last season, the Lightning lost in the preliminary final.
The Lightning have some big shoes to fill with the retirement of New Zealand Silver Ferns legend, Laura Langman. Langman was in the top five in the competition in 2020 for goal assists with 255.
The Lightning have made an astute recruitment to help fill the void left by Langman. They have recruited Mahalia Cassidy from the Queensland Firebirds.