JOHANNESBURG (12 May 2016) – The final weekend of Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League matches before the Playoffs has some interesting games to offer at the Ellis Park Indoor Arena.
Michael Vlismas – On Saturday, the Free State Crinums will be delighted to have Spar Proteas defender Karla Mostert back from playing for Bath in the English Superleague when they take on the Western Cape Southern Stings.
And Mostert is herself looking forward to this encounter.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the improvement I’ve made and how it compares when I rejoin the Brutal Fruit league now. We know it’s going to be a tough game and I think that makes it even more exciting for me. As a player you want to improve all the time.”
And the log-topping North West Flames face a potentially tricky match against the Golden Fireballs.
The Flames have yet to lose a match this season, but the Fireballs are quite easily the team capable of ending this run for Dorette Badenhorst’s team.
The Fireballs have been a rapidly improving team and lost by only six goals to the Gauteng Jaguars last weekend. And Badenhorst won’t be taking them lightly.
“I think overall the Brutal Fruit is a lot more competitive this year and there are a lot of teams that are stronger. You can’t go into any match thinking you’ve got a win in the bag. The competition is very strong.”
Fireballs coach Elsje Jordaan has another tough match to prepare for after the Gauteng Jaguars encounter last weekend. But it’s this intensity which she believes is moulding her players into the competitive unit they are becoming.
“We’re improving with every week. That’s the beauty of the Brutal Fruit competition, namely the opportunity for young players to play hard matches week in and week out. At the end of it all that’s what we all want to do – to make a contribution to ensuring that the best players in South Africa are identified. That’s Netball South Africa’s goal as well and the more competitive the matches are, the better it is for South African netball as a whole.”
Round 6 Fixtures (Ellis Park Indoor Arena, Johannesburg):
13 May
18:00 – Diamonds v Kingdom Stars
20:00 – Southern Stings v Sunbirds
14 May
12:00 – Jaguars v Kingdom Stars
14:00 – Baobabs v Aloes
15:30 – PINK Game in support of breast cancer awareness
17:00 – Crinums v Southern Stings
19:00 – Flames v Fireballs
15 May
10:30 – Crinums v Sunbirds
12:30 – Baobabs v Jaguars
