On a run of four games without defeat since they thumped early title contenders Ryland by 20 points in November, Jets meet Kent for the fifth time in two seasons at Fort Regent after both clubs earned promotion from Premier League 3 via the play-offs last May.
| P | W | L | D | GAv | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tameside | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.47 | 50 |
| Kent County | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1.13 | 38 |
| Ryland | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1.02 | 37 |
| Worcester Reds | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1.00 | 36 |
| Team Jets | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1.01 | 30 |
| Clan | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0.94 | 28 |
| Grangetown | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0.98 | 27 |
| Telstars | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0.93 | 27 |
| Prem. Romans* | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0.91 | 17 |
| Thoroughbreds | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.76 | 15 |
*5 pts deducted
The Islanders’ 62-42 defeat of reigning PL3 champions Ryland came as a result of mastering the basics, and Devine is calling for a repeat tomorrow afternoon as she looks to navigate her side closer to the top four.
‘We know their defence is quite physical and likes a high ball, so we need to keep it short and sharp in attack. And with their attack – they’re very agile and very quick, so it’s all about stopping their flow of play.’
Devine, who is organising a fundraiser for Mind Jersey on 24 January, when Jets will play a charity match against a team from De La Salle School following their PL 2 game against Worcester Reds, added: ‘We need to cut down the errors. When we try to go too fancy errors creep in – dropped balls, footwork, breaking lines; all complete sins in a netball game … but we start doing that when we think about it too much.
‘We need to make sure we’re in the same frame of mind going into this game as we were against Ryland, when we just played pure and simple netball.’
The 2014 CI Sports Personality of the Year is again likely to start alongside Josie Le Masurier in defence, with the pair expecting a tough test against Mavericks Superleague attacker Laura Morton, while head coach Linda Andrews – who ran an extra technical session for her players this week – has recalled Rebecca Forrest to the squad after the junior was named Player of the Match on her debut against Telstars in November.
Lauren Devine, Ebony Troy, Josie Le Masurier, Abbie Hazley, Jenna Meredith, Jacy Brown, Lisa Luce, Georgia Hickey, Sophie Holmes, Lynsey Pitman, Rosie Tonner, Rebecca Forrest.
