How is the Kiwi exodus holding up in Australia? Netball writer Kayla Hodge has kept a close eye as Super Netball surpasses the halfway mark.
One name stands head and shoulders above the rest — and that is not southern bias.
Kate Heffernan has taken her game to a whole other level with the Adelaide Thunderbirds, who have only lost one game and sit second on the table, and has been an outstanding driving force in their midcourt.
The former Southern Steel captain has predominantly worn the centre bib in Australia and has been a standout with 10 intercepts and 19 deflections in the opening nine rounds.
Coming up against world-class opponents in Diamonds midcourters Liz Watson, Kate Maloney and Jamie-Lee Price has helped elevate Heffernan’s game.
She has formed great connections with the Thunderbirds attack line, caused havoc with her long reach through the middle and looks more confident feeding her shooters.
That can only be a positive for the Silver Ferns in their quick turnaround for the Commonwealth Games.
Things have been a mixed bag at the Queensland Firebirds, dubbed the Fire Ferns, for Kelly Jackson, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Maddy Gordon.
Jackson has been in her usual intimidating form, sits third on 19 intercepts in the league and has grown into the season, while Gordon has played only three games after picking up a hamstring injury, but has looked good.
Selby-Rickit took a while to find her feet with the increased speed and style in Australia, but has really come into her own in recent weeks, upping her shooting volume and finding the space to feed Ugandan shooter Mary Cholhok at the back.
Up the road at the Sunshine Coast Lightning, defender Karin Burger has formed a solid in-circle combination with Diamonds defender Courtney Bruce.
The Lightning have had an up-and-down season, so it is always hard to tell someone’s impact, but Burger has been key in bringing the ball through the court and has 21 deflections and 10 intercepts.
In Sydney, Grace Nweke has continued to be a dominant force in the Swifts circle as her team battles through an injury plagued season.
Nweke, who played for the Swifts last year, sits second in the league for goals (387) — only three off the No 1 spot — while team-mate Gina Crampton has been injected off the bench and is yet to make a big impact.
Nweke’s game awareness during the two-point period is a work-on, as she often looks unclear on the plan with long-bomb shooter Helen Housby out for the season.
Across town, Whitney Souness has struggled as part of the winless Giants attacking end that has not gelled and has coughed up 40 turnovers, while Jane Watson was in fine form until she injured both legs and was ruled out for up to eight weeks.
