This season the Netball Super League introduced the super shot where teams can score two points at a time rather than the standard one.
However this chance is only available in the last five minutes of each quarter and is from the edge of the shooting area, forcing teams to switch up their tactics.
London Mavericks seem to be the team that have made the most of the super shot, as after round eight they were fourth on the table with 16 points; but without the super shot they would be sixth with half the points earned.
With Rolene Streutkerbeing the NSL’s top goal scorer so far, Nottingham Forrest have crept into the top four in the league without the super shot, having defeated both Loughborough Lightning and London Pulse this season.
LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons would still be at the bottom of the table, however, they would have won their game against London Mavericks in round eight.
The Welsh side would also have picked up two bonus points for losing by less than five points, along with Birmingham Panthers with four bonus points and Mavericks with two.
It is also important to note that Panthers and Dragons have played one less game than their competitors due to a play-stopping injury during their round three fixture.
Suzie Liverseidge, wing attack and centre for Mavericks, said: “I think it’s [super shot] super interesting and the transition happens so quickly, you’re in normal time playing as normal and then suddenly it’s that transition.
“I don’t think it changes a huge amount, obviously as a midi (mid-court player) ideally we want to be landing them in that super shot zone, but also it’s quite good to just land them in the one anyway and then play it back out.
“If anything, I actually think it changes more the defensive strategies because you can kind of play out however the ball comes through the court, but obviously there is a huge tactical part to it.
“We have spoken a lot about, when it’s good to take them, when it’s not, it’s great when they’re going in, but when they’re not and you miss, it almost seems doubly costly because the opposition then have three opportunities in a row, with their centre passes and then the turnover opportunity to score up to six points – which I think is how we’ve seen those huge momentum shifts in games.”
These tactical changes have developed as the season has progressed, with many of the results in the first rounds remaining the same without the super shot but more recently some scores have been swapped.
A crucial game that had the result affected by the super shot was in round eight between Lightning and Manchester Thunder, as the two teams were tied on points going into the game.
Lightning took the win in the official scoring but without the super shot Thunder would have taken that crucial win and secured second place at the time.
We have also seen some teams come back from what would have previously been seen as too large a deficit and win the game.
For example in one match, before the super shot in the third quarter Mavericks were trailing 10 points behind Dragons but by the end of the quarter, they had equalled the scoreline and went on to win.
Founder of Fearless Women and London Mavericks board trustee Sue Anstiss said: “I think the super shot is just brilliant because it makes what could be a foregone conclusion as you come into the third quarter, not be.
“So I think just that jeopardy, that excitement, the different style of play – it’s just made it so interesting.”
“I imagine as players it gives you more confidence to know all is not lost as there have been times when you’re 10 down but bring it back.
“So I can only envisage that it must give them the confidence to know this is still doable and I think that’s really important for when you’re tired and even going into extra time in some cases too now.”
But the super shot was not met with an instant welcome as some fans were hesitant for change in the sport.
Broadcaster James Pierce said: “It’s been interesting [with the super shot] because obviously at the beginning of the season when it was announced, I think the general impression of it was that it was very negative.
“But in sport in general I think people are adverse to change.
“The nice thing about the netball community is that people are very committed to the community and committed to the sport, and so if you do change something, there might be a little bit of tentativeness at the beginning, but people will come round.
“I do quite like the fact that some of the teams will be more strategic with their substitutions and bring specific people on for the final five minutes.”
Although Pierce also reflected on what impact changing such an impactful rule will potentially have on those at grass roots level who hope to make it to the Super League.
He added: “With this new this strategy of the game changing at five minutes to go and so you’re either gonna put a very defensive side on if you’re ahead by quite a lot because you don’t want to risk people get shooting the super shot.
“Then the people who are behind, they’re gonna put the very offensive people on, the people that can throw to get the two points so it’s going to be a very different strategy to how Netball is played.
“I think that will be interesting because obviously that will not be something we see in other areas of the sport, having been a primary school teacher in my previous life and tried my best to teach netball to primary school children, that’s not what’s taught in schools.
“When you see netball coaching in schools, they’re not looking at super shots and things like that, so I wonder how much that will have an impact on the children watching at home and it not quite being the same sport anymore.”
Liverseidge also spoke about the difficulties of having players that are in the NXT GEN league, the NSL’s development league, move up as they don’t currently play with the super shot.
She said: “I think it’s bizarre that we now play a sport where every league plays a different rule, like imagine growing up and then suddenly the top league has a super shot.
“Like in training, NXT GEN players come in when we have injuries, which we’ve had quite a lot of, and they come in to replace someone, but they’re not playing that rule, so it is kind of strange.”
While this season is not yet done, some teams may be looking at their options for next season now knowing the impact the super shot can have on a game.
Anstiss described how some shooters are better from a distance than others depending on their style of play and so there’s potential for teams to be looking to recruit shooters that have that ability now the impact is so clear.
While Pierce also said he expects there may be more movement of players than we would have initially expected due to teams’ desires for players who have a high super shot success rate.
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