BEFORE I started at the Advocate, I produced a weekly AFL program on Melbourne’s Channel 31.
One of our favourite segments, called ‘I could’ve done that’, consisted of picking out an AFL player’s miss from the weekend, from relatively close range, and seeing if the everyday fan could go one better and kick the goal.
What started as a skit poking fun at the apparent decline of goalkicking, turned into the realisation there is more to converting than just, simply, scoring the goal.
And netball is no different.
The flight of the ball from the hands of the forward into the hoop is merely the tip of the iceberg for the players with one of the biggest responsibilities on the court.
The mind of an attacker kicks into overdrive when the ball comes their way.
Upon receiving the ball inside the circle, players consider: how and when they are going to shoot, preparing for the rebound and the possibility of having to win the ball back if it gets turned over (and that’s only a few of them).
All in about three seconds.
This week, the Advocate sought to dive deep into the minds of the region’s attackers’ union and get a glimpse of the art of goal-shooting.
Starting out as a defender, Navarre’s Bek Seeary-Pye made the move up front around eight years ago.
Her knowledge of the defensive side of the game holds her in good stead when she meets some of the Maryborough-Castlemaine District’s fiercest defenders.
One of her techniques as a forward is using the three allotted seconds to shoot – where she hopes to force her opponent to move early to mistime their jump.
“Each defender is so different,” Seeary-Pye said.
“You’ve got Naomi Medlyn from Natte [Bealiba] who will not let me hold her at all. so I have to be on my feet and moving. When you’ve got a holding defender I try and put them where I want, so I have to change my game depending on who I’m playing.
“If defenders aren’t that close to me I’ll put up a quick shot, so if I do miss I get a second chance at it.
“We just played avoca and I was up against Caitlin Drummond who has some of the longest arms in the league. I would normally wait for the defender to fall or jump. The problem I had playing against her was I would wait for her to get out of the way, but her arms were so long she kept rejecting my shot.”
It is that battle within the war between attackers and defenders which not only makes netball such an entertaining spectacle, but allows the great players shine.
For 30 years, Avoca’s Colleen-squared attacking line-up has caused defenders nightmares.
Colleen Soulsby became renowned for allowing defenders to think they had won the day by forcing her to receive the ball on the outskirts of the ring.
Though little did they know it was Soulsby pulling the strings.
Aside from giving her “partner in crime” and prolific goal-shooter Colleen Drummond more room closer to the net, Soulsby’s ability to sink long-shots has given their opponents close to no hope for three decades.
“I’m more of front player because I’m a bit shorter,” she said.
“Sometimes I might almost act like a defender and hold my opponent as the ball comes in and other times I might move a bit more.
“I’m quite comfortable shooting from a long way out, especially if Colleen Drummond is near the ring because I know if I miss she’ll get the rebound.
“Col and I have been playing on and off for 30 years, so I know if I’ve run up to get the ball she’ll go towards the ring and I don’t even have to look. You get to know how each other move and where they’re going to run to.
“To me that dynamic is ideal and one I look for when I’m coaching. The taller one is there for the lobs and the smaller, zippy player runs around and causes havoc that way.”
And then comes, arguably the most difficult parts of the job, shooting itself.
Ex-Diamonds coach Sue Hawkins recently compared shooting styles from around the world in a piece with the Guardian; identifying a higher-release shot as the preference for Australian players, while attackers from the Caribbean opted for a lower-trajectory approach, where they generated power from their arms and legs.
But even then, Hawkins and the players interviewed for this piece, were quick to point out no two players shoot the same way.
“You look at say how Rachel Phelan or Maddy Egan [shoot] and they’re completely opposite styles. Everyone is so different,” Seeary-Pye said.
“My left hand never really touches the ball. I shot one handed when I first started and that’s because I was a defender and then eventually someone told me to put my other hand up.”