Fast and Furious - Fast5 2012

Image courtesy of Zimbio.com

When I first heard about the inaugural Fast 5 tournament coming to Auckland I thought they were referring to the Fastnet series which began in 2009 in Manchester, England. This new series was created with the hope of producing a faster and innovative version of the game which sadly failed to really take off previously. A couple of rule changes and I was stuck in front of my television for 3 solid days of netball.

Now I must point out being a sports addict and in particular a netball addict I would have sat down and watched regardless of the new rules, however I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and found the new rules to be a breath of fresh air from the previous 7 aside version.

The entry of 3 pointers outside the circle as well as 2 scoring zones within the goal circle meant traditional tactics were revised and a lot more detail was placed on the high risk shots. As its previous version the power play quarter remained however unlike Fastnet teams were unable to take the power play in the same quarter as its opposition which i thought was a great decision.

Having lost the WA and WD from the court it placed more emphasis on the remaining players creating space and essentially always being an option to the ball. This would be fantastic if it carried through to the traditional 7-aside game as it seems many teams have forgotten this essential part of the game.

The traditional netball participants were involved, New Zealand, Australia, England, Jamaica as well as South Africa who stayed on after the recent Quad series and ranked number 5 in the world the Malawi queens.

One of the highlights of the tournament was the unpredictability of the games with many upsets caused, one in particular by Malawi over Australia who are of course ranked number one in world netball. The competition showed that on any given day anyone can be beaten and will hopefully be successful in the long run for these teams.

Australia who more than likely would have put their disappointing performance down to having a very young and inexperienced side, however all of these players have been playing in the ANZ championship and I think that the problem was down to incorrect tactics for this new concept. Long shots were taken at the wrong times and the attacking drive we have previously seen was lacking. However the defensive pairing of Chanel Gomes and April Letton worked a treat and were instrumental in creating turnovers for their team

England was typically strong throughout the competition, being one of the dominant teams in the previous Fastnet series. It was of course the Fastnet series in 2009 that we saw the emergence of a young Jo Harten and in particular her long range ability. It was this year’s series that we saw a consistent and impressive performance from GS Rachel Dunn who had previously spent a year with the Canterbury Tactix in the 2008 ANZ championships and showed that maybe the best is yet to come. She was probably the standout amongst the goalers during the series with an impressive number of 3 pointers from outside the goal circle. 

The defensive duo of Beckford-Chambers and Francis were as consistent as ever and will both be strong forces for their respective ANZ champs teams next season.  The would consider themselves unlucky in loosing to the Silver Ferns Fast5 team in the final after missing out on a couple of match winning opportunities, however second place is still a pretty impressive accomplishment. 

One of the strengths of the entire team was their constant pressure being put on opposition teams through court in particular during an opposition’s power play quarter, essentially starving the opposition of possession and putting more pressure on them when they had the attacking play.

South Africa seemed to have shown an immediate benefit in the participation of the quad series and showed they have real promise and potential as a world netball nation as they push for higher honors  Their 3rd place finish was a real accomplishment and with more test matches against higher ranked teams we can expect bigger and better things. Again Captain Amanda Mynhardt who has been playing netball in Auckland this year showed the improvements in her personal game and was solid on both attack and defence.

As previously mentioned Malawi were the real surprise package of the tournament and their 5th place finish didn't reflect their overall performance throughout the 3 days. At times their play reflected a much higher team with some slick transitional play and strong lines as well as their start GS Kumwenda slotting the goals. Her netball sabbatical in Victoria, Australia seems to be making a difference in both her game and her confidence.

Last but not least was out Fast 5 Ferns who brought the majority of their quad series players into the completion with the exception of Casey Williams who once again had to pull out due to her troublesome knees. Prior to the competition it was noted that the new goal scoring rules were going to suit season long bomb pro Maria Tutaia who has developed a reputation for being a ruthless shooter from the depths of the goal circle, she certainly did not disappoint and being aptly backed up by Irene van Dyk, Anna Thompson and also surprising goaler Bailey Mes it was a recipe for success.

Throughout the tournament all 10 players brought their A game and it was hard to separate a player of the series. Again we saw young Kayla Cullen develop her game at centre which solidified the long and successful future she will have in the position, the fast pace and combination of both attack and defence really suited her game and will be invaluable going forward in the 7 aside game.

The Harrison hoist was aptly perfected for the format and was successful on a number of occasions blocking the hits and really getting into the head of the shooters. The new move which surprised even the seasoned netball lovers was named the Harrison hoopla which involved Anna Harrison throwing the ball into the net from a backbone throw in, similar to what shooters do against the post. It was certainly an innovative inclusion into the series and may certainly catch on in the longer format.

Overall, despite the low crowd numbers I felt it was a successful tournament and has the potential to grow over the next 3 years. It was fast, furious and pure excitement and a great way to end a long year with even the players enjoying themselves and playing up to the crowd.

I certainly can't wait for next year.

What were your thoughts?