Netball: Numbers behind netball's divide

The Vixens' Natasha Chokljat is just one behind fellow Australian Laura Geitz in recording the most pick-ups this season. Photo / Getty Images

The transtasman competition has opened our eyes to the vast differences in style of play between New Zealand and Australian sides.

Previously the variations were apparent only when the two countries met in an international series. But the advent of the ANZ Championship has provided endless opportunities for comparisons.

The move towards professionalism has also meant teams and individuals are now analysed in greater detail than ever.

Most teams now employ video analysts, technical advisers and statisticians whose job it is to dissect the opposition and help to plot a way to overcome them.

Over the course of the opening nine rounds of the competition, a mountain of statistics and data accrued, which the Herald has gained access to. It can make for rather dry reading, but there are some categories worthy of examination.

Certainly the statistics will never tell the full story, but they paint a very interesting picture of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Australian and New Zealand players. And with transtasman rivalries set to resume this weekend, what better time to look at them?

PICK-UPS

A pick-up in netball pertains to the snaffling of any loose ball.

Australian players dominate this category, with nine of the 12 players leading the pick-ups stats being from across the Tasman.

Queensland Firebirds defender and Australian international Laura Geitz tops the pick-ups category with 26 so far this season. Close behind is Natasha Chokljat of the Vixens (25), Mo'onia Gerrard of the Thunderbirds (23) and another Vixens midcourter, Renae Hallinan (21).

The only Kiwis to feature on the list are Camilla Lees (20) and Cushla Lichtwark (18), both of the Central Pulse.

It is an extremely disappointing statistic from New Zealand's point of view given that any loose ball is effectively 50-50.

So why are our Aussie rivals so good at snaffling possession?

It is probably a mix of two reasons. First, the Australian players are very tenacious by nature - they put their bodies on the line to dive for loose ball. They are also exceptionally fast and have the speed off the mark.

Second, the pick-up stat also says a lot about the Australian style of defence. With their tight, one-on-one style of marking, the Aussie players are very good at coming around the body and getting a hand to the ball to spoil possession for the opposition teams, with their own players on hand to pick up the scraps. Which leads nicely to the next statistical category: deflections.

DEFLECTIONS

The deflection stat is very evenly shared between New Zealand and Australian teams, but if we disregard import players, who take out the third, fourth and fifth spots on the list, it is clear Aussie players are better at disrupting play by tipping the ball away for opposition hands.

Mind you, Casey Williams leads the category with 50 deflections, but the only other Kiwi players to make the list are the Mystics' Stephanie Bond and Charlotte Knight of the Tactix, who take out ninth and 10th spots respectively.

INTERCEPTS

Where the New Zealand players do feature more prominently, though, is in the intercept count.

The traditional Kiwi style of space marking defence, where players mark a zone or area on the court, lends itself more to creating the opportunities for intercepts. The defence of New Zealand teams is often built around trying to outsmart the opposition by set "traps" - the execution of which requires a full team defensive effort and impeccable timing.

The Australian style of defence is built around tight man-on-man marking and relentless pressure, picking off intercepts by running over top of their player and contesting the ball.

There are no prizes for guessing who leads the category - it is Williams first and daylight second. The athletic Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic star has racked up 36 intercepts this season, with Geitz in second place on 22.

The Southern Steel's Sheryl Scanlan is third on the list with 19. Next comes Jamaican import Althea Byfield of the Central Pulse on 18, despite having not played since her side's round five overtime loss to the Northern Mystics.

The remaining places on the list are shared evenly between New Zealand and Australian players.

CONTACTS

The differing defensive styles is perhaps also illustrated in the contact stats.

Australian players take out six of the top 10 places in the contact penalties, while just three New Zealanders are on the list (although two of those are in the top three, which suggests poor discipline is a problem on both sides of the Tasman).

Geitz leads the count with 113 contacts against her name, with Bond second and Scanlan third.

Scanlan is the most penalised player overall in the league when you take in to account obstruction calls.

The rest of the category is dominated by Australian players - most likely a result of the fact that they tend to contest the ball a lot more.

With space marking more prevalent among the New Zealand teams, players tend to play off the body a bit more and hunt for the intercept, which means they're less likely to draw the contact in the process.

Not surprisingly, defenders virtually monopolise the contact penalty count, taking out nine of the top 10 spots.

So it is interesting to note the presence of West Coast Fever midcourter Shae Bolton in that list. The youngster has racked up 86 contact calls, which is alarmingly high for a centre court player.

THE NUMBERS GAME

PICK UPS
* Laura Geitz, Queensland Firebirds, 26
* Natasha Chokljat, Melbourne Vixens, 25
* Mo'onia Gerrard, Adelaide Thunderbirds, 23
* Renae Hallinan, Melbourne Vixens, 21
* Camilla Lees, Central Pulse, 20
* Madison Browne, West Coast Fever, 20
* Bianca Chatfield, Melbourne Vixens, 20
* Johannah Curran, West Coast Fever, 18
* Joanna Sutton, Adelaide Thunderbirds, 18
* Cushla Lichtwark, Central Pulse, 18
* Sonia Mkoloma, Canterbury Tactix, 18
* Julie Corletto, Melbourne Vixens, 18

DEFLECTIONS
* Casey Williams, Waikato/BOP Magic, 50
* Laura Geitz, Queensland Firebirds, 47
* Sonia Mkoloma, Canterbury Tactix, 43
* Althea Byfield, Central Pulse, 39
* Geva Mentor, Adelaide Thunderbirds, 37
* Julie Corletto, Melbourne Vixens, 34
* Susan Fuhrmann, West Coast Fever, 31
* Bianca Chatfield, Melbourne Vixens, 29
* Stephanie Bond, Northern Mystics, 29
* Charlotte Kight, Canterbury Tactix, 28

INTERCEPTS
* Casey Williams, Waikato/BOP Magic, 36
* Laura Geitz, Queensland Firebirds, 22
* Sheryl Scanlan, Southern Steel, 19
* Althea Byfield, Central Pulse, 18
* Rebecca Bulley, NSW Swifts, 16
* Bianca Chatfield, Melbourne Vixens, 14
* Katrina Grant, Southern Steel, 14
* Johannah Curran, West Coast Fever, 14
* Stephanie Bond, Northern Mystics, 13
* Mo'onia Gerrard, Adelaide Thunderbirds, 12
* Charlotte Kight, Canterbury Tactix, 12

CONTACT PENALTIES
* Laura Geitz, Queensland Firebirds, 113
* Stephanie Bond, Northern Mystics, 108
* Sheryl Scanlan, Southern Steel, 103
* Mo'onia Gerrard, Adelaide Thunderbirds, 98
* Sonia Mkoloma, Canterbury Tactix, 89
* Shae Bolton, West Coast Fever, 86
* Corletto, Melbourne Vixens, 85
* Johannah Curran, West Coast Fever, 84
* Charlotte Kight, Canterbury Tactix, 84
* Susan Fuhrmann, West Coast Fever, 82