Australia takes lead in Netball Quad series with win over arch rival England

At Nellakir, Victoria and Tasmania’s leading provider of Sprung Timber Sports Floors, we take more than a passing interest in how our National teams fare in both Netball and Basketball. Nellakir built the two major show courts at the Victorian Netball Centre in Royal Park, so it was with some satisfaction that we note Australia’s victory over England in that sport (Netball) at the Netball Quad series being played in Newcastle yesterday, exacting revenge on the team that beat them in the Commonwealth Games in April.

Victorian State Netball Centre

Championship level Netball requires a championship level surface. Nellakir use and recommend ASF Horner Sports Flooring systems for truly professional Sports Flooring of the highest quality. In NSW these same ASF Horner systems are installed by Shoreline Sports Floors and the surface of the venue for the Netball Quad series is one of our sister company’s (Shoreline) completed and maintained projects. Read all about the game here…

Australia grind out victory over England to take Quad Series lead

Almost five months to the day since England sensationally beat Australia to claim netball gold at the Commonwealth Games, a less-than-sparkling Diamonds team exacted their revenge, seeing off the Roses 52-47 in Newcastle to take the lead in the Quad Series.

Lisa Alexander’s charges may have won the first encounter between the nations since that watershed moment on the Gold Coast in April, but it was a grind. The win in front of 4,544 fans at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre also came with a big asterisk.

England were without Jo Harten, who was sidelined with a knee complaint, after getting a knock late in the Roses’ 52-39 victory against New Zealand on Saturday. England, with the NSW Swift recruit Natalie Haythornthwaite starting at goal attack in Harten’s absence and their Games hero Helen Housby back at shooter, settled quicker than the Diamonds and led 14-11 at quarter-time. An upset looked on the cards.

But once the Diamonds attack end hit their stride, thanks to the injection of Liz Watson for Kim Ravaillion at centre at quarter-time and a more settled Caitlin Bassett, who shot 37 from 40 at 93% accuracy thanks to beautiful feeding from Kelsey Browne, by half-time Australia had taken the ascendency 26-24.

Alexander admitted the Diamonds were disappointed Harten was missing. “I must admit, yes we would have really loved that challenge,” she said. But, in the lead-up to the World Cup in Liverpool next July, Alexander said the side would work hard to simulate the Harten/Housby partnership in training.

Alexander played down talk of revenge and said Australia were thinking about the future, not the past. “It’s about establishing our way of playing, we’ve got a new group. For bits of tonight I thought we did that. But we’ve got work to do. It was a grind really tonight.”

When the sides meet again, on English soil, physicality will be a talking point. Alexander was not impressed with the “hit and bang style” employed in Newcastle. “It’s a very interesting style … closing off space really,” she said.“We’re not playing like that. We play with skill. We try to get our defenders going around the body, to the line of the ball, not hitting the bodies … I thought that was a little bit untidy tonight.”

Source: theguardian.com

Nellakir offer expert construction and maintenance of all timber sports flooring. Call now on 03 9467 6126 for an obligation free quotation on regular maintenance, renovation or refurbishment, or complete new construction of all sprung timber sports flooring surfaces. Or leave your details here and one of our technicians will contact you to assist you with your enquiry.

Nellakir – The Sports Flooring of Champions

Advertisements

Nellakir – Victoria’s leading supplier of Timber Sports Flooring

Nellakir, Victoria’s leading supplier of indoor sprung timber sports flooring, continue to develop new playing courts and stadium sports flooring.

Here we reflect on some of the floors built by Nellakir and maintained over the years to ensure premium competitive surfaces.

Included images are shots from the State Netball Centre in Parkville, the State Basketball Centre in Wantirna, and the very popular Waverley Netball Centre. Soon to be added to our Gallery are shots of the new Bendigo Stadium’s courts recently opened as part of the facility’s $22M redevelopment in 2018. The Eagle Stadium at Werribee Fitness Centre as well as the Keilor Stadium were also both constructed by Nellakir.

Nellakir offer expert construction of sprung timber sports flooring (FIBA approved) utilising the Australian Sports Flooring ASF Horner timber sports flooring systems exclusively. Nellakir are the leading constructors of Sprung Timber Sports Flooring in Victoria and Tasmania.

Nellakir offer a full and complete maintenance package which now includes the new Enhanced Floor Cleaner – with the enhanced cleaner and a two meter cleaning bar making court cleaning a breeze.

Annual maintenance programs including re-surfacing as required, annual linemarking, re-coating after 12 months on all Sprung Timber Sports Flooring and when required, re-sanding of timber sports flooring.

Nellakir provide regular Stadium Seating inspections on a 12 month basis. Fees and costings for any proposed works are forwarded to centre managements. Such works should be prioritised with Public Liability and risk management being a major consideration in any public sporting arena.

Nellakir recommend a complete re-sanding of sprung timber sports flooring every 7-12 years.

For expert advice and a timely response please call Nellakir now on 9467 6126 to arrange a free consultation and quotation. Or leave your details on our website and one of our team will get back to you with your requirements.

Nellakir Sports Floors – The Sports Flooring of Champions.

Melbourne Vixens blow West Coast Fever away.

The Melbourne Vixens are powering into a season defining winning streak. This weekend they meet the Collingwood Magpies at their home court – the Margaret Court Arena Melbourne.

Suncorp Super Netball 18/02/2017 Round 1 Vixens v Magpies Photo: Grant Treeby

The Vixens home court is Arena Stadium at the State Netball and hockey Centre in Brens Rd Parkville. The show courts and all timber sports flooring at the centre was constructed by Nellakir – Victoria and Tasmania’s leading construction and maintenance team for Competition Level Sprung Timber Flooring. Nellakir exclusively use ASF/Horner Sports Flooring systems, providing the best competition surfaces for both Netball and Basketball in the State – a surface that continue to power the Melbourne Vixens to further victories. Here is a report on last week’s game in Perth.

Melbourne Vixens upset West Coast Fever, keep finals hopes strong

Melbourne Vixens won’t be going quietly.

The Vixens are far from certain finalists after a mixed start to the Super Netball season but on Saturday they showed just how good they can be with a comprehensive 74-60 win over ladder-leaders West Coast Fever at Hisense Arena.

Melbourne claimed seven of the eight possible points giving their hopes of moving up into the top four from sixth position every chance.

To make it the Vixens will need more wins and a healthy dose of bonus points from their remaining seven games but this win was the blueprint of how they can get it done.

The Vixens offered starring performances across the court as they zoned off defensively and forced the visitors into errors while in attack Tegan Philip (25 goals from 31 shots) showed a burst of match-winning speed in the first half shooting 15 goals as the Vixens led by 16 goals at half time.

Shooter Mwai Kumwenda (49 goals from 51 shots) was as prolific as always while Kate Moloney and Liz Watson were constants at both ends and Renea Ingles showed she has fast regained her elite edge in wing defence.
Advertisement

“We have had a really good two weeks during the bye, we have been working really hard towards playing the netball they are capable of producing,” Vixens coach Simone McKinnis said.

“They saw the rewards tonight, the work rate was consistent across the four quarters.

“There is no easy answer or easy way of beating that sort of team, it is just doing the hard work

“They were prepared for what they had to do and they did it.”

McKinnis praised the shooting of Kumwenda and the run of Philip adding Ingles showed the fruits of hard training during the bye.

“I think she has gone up another level today and the more she is out there, the better she will become,” McKinnis said.

Fever coach Stacey Marinkovich said her side had to learn their lessons from the loss.

“They really put us under a lot of pressure with the way they contested and their hands over right down the court,” Marinkovich said.

“It was a very clinical, Victorian style of play. They executed well and did it for very long periods of time.

Both teams looked up for the contest in the opening 10 minutes as they traded goals and and leads.

Then the Vixens found their grove with one turnover eliciting a scream from captain Moloney as her side took a 17-14 lead into quarter time then took the contest away from the Fever.

That second quarter was not just owned by the cunning play of Philip but the team defence of the Vixens who repeatedly forced turnovers or errant passes from the Fever as defenders Emily Mannix and Jo Weston made life difficult for dominant shooter Jhaniele Fowler (56 goals from 60 shots) while wing defence Renae Ingles smothered multiple wing attacks leaving nearly all the playmaking to the overworked Verity Charles and Nat Medhurst.

An eight-point Vixens lead forced a time out from the Fever but upon the restart a turnover and follow up goal saw that lead enter double figures.

From there it kept climbing and the Vixens would have been happy for the term to go beyond 15 minutes as they went into half time up 43-27.

The Fever haven’t fluked their strong start to the season and bring Kaylia Stanton into goal attack and moving Medhurst to wing attack led to a much closer third term as Stanton offered another shooting option outside of Fowler.

An 18-14 quarter meant the Fever would at least take a point from the game.
The Fever went for broke to start the final term cutting the lead to nine as they went back to feeding long balls into Fowler but the Vixens finished strongly to claim the final term.

Ingles made an intercept early in the final term which brought a big cheer from 5838 home fans, just as Ingles is finding her feet after a late start to 2018, so are her Vixens.

The Vixens and Collingwood Magpies square off in their second meeting at the season at Margaret Court Arena this coming Sunday at 1pm.

Source: smh.com.au

For expert construction and programmed maintenance of all Timber Sports Flooring, call Nellakir on 9467 6126 for a free no obligation quote on all services.

Nellakir – the Sports Flooring of Champions.

Nellakir helps young athletes reach their goals by providing the highest quality Sprung Timber Sports Floor playing surfaces.