Two consecutive defeats since victory against Ryland in early January have left the Islanders with just the slightest of advantages over fourth-placed Norfolk United, and with the all-important playoff spots only being afforded to second and third, their position looks far less secure than it appeared early last month.
| P | W | L | D | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent County | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1.34 | 59 |
| Ryland | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1.16 | 51 |
| Team Jets | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1.04 | 47 |
| Norfolk United | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1.09 | 46 |
| Cumberland | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0.98 | 44 |
| Dudley Leisure | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1.02 | 41 |
| Linden | 13 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 38 |
| Falcons Black | 13 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0.83 | 30 |
| Sussex Thunder | 13 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0.94 | 28 |
| Loughborough | 13 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0.7 | 15 |
With injuries mounting as the physical nature of the national pyramid takes its toll Linda Andrews has called upon 2013/14 regional league winner Calli Bushell – who called time on netball at the end of last season – to strengthen the mid-court. Lisa Luce is being left behind as she recovers from a knock, while centre Jacy Brown is unlikely to play the full 60 minutes.
Injuries aside, Jets do indeed remain the only team in the division to defeat Kent this season, and they must, therefore, know they are more than capable of denying tomorrow’s hosts an eighth consecutive victory.
Andrews dubbed Jets’ 52-47 success in October as one of their best performances to date, and after disappointing losses to Cumberland and Dudley Leisure in recent weeks the head coach is looking for a return to the form that had the Caesareans sitting top of the table (albeit for 24 hours) on the first weekend in November.
‘We lost a bit of confidence last week and allowed Dudley to rule the game, but we know we can beat Kent.
‘We have worked on our speed of release into the shooters and we’ll be repeating the strategy that we used against them last time, as we know it works.’
