Jamaican aces to face off in spicy SNL battle

MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC):

A mouth-watering showdown between two Jamaican aces will be the feature attraction in the sixth round of the Super Netball League (SNL) tomorrow in Australia.

Marquee goal-shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard will face fellow Jamaican and defensive starlet Shamera Sterling-Humphrey when West Coast Fever host reigning champions Adelaide Thunderbirds at the RAC Arena in Perth in western Australia.

Fowler-Nembhard and Sterling-Humphrey will be only two of the six Sunshine Girlz, as the Jamaica national team is known, that will take to the court for one of the spiciest contests so far this season.

The Fever have been unstoppable this season and have won all five of their matches so far this season to lead the eight-team standings with 20 points and a superior goal difference over Melbourne Mavericks.

All the opponents of the Fever, except the Mavericks, have been thumped by more than 10 goals, but the Thunderbirds will be looking to not fall into the same category when they match up with the best offence in the League.

The T-birds have not been quite so efficient, but they have won four of their five matches for the season, and they are third behind Fever and Mavericks and a favourable result in this contest will serve them well.

The T-birds have found their feet in recent weeks with margins of victory north of 20 points in their last two matches, after a rough start to the season, winning their opener against Queensland Firebird by only one point before dropping their second match against Melbourne Vixens by the same margin.

But the contest within the contest between Fowler-Nembhard and Sterling-Humphrey, perhaps the two best players at their position in the sport on the world stage, will grab the headlines during the match.

Fowler-Nembhard leads the league in goals made, and Sterling-Humphrey leads all the key stats in the tournament for defenders.

For obvious reasons, the duo also knows each other very well, resulting in a spicy match-up inside the goal circle, where the difference could also come from their national teammate, Latanya Wilson at goal defence.

Wilson is two intercepts short of the season haul for Sterling-Humphrey, and her ability to switch from hunting down the ball to shutting down her opponents will be crucial to the T-birds.

With both sides having strong defences, the match is likely to come down to who can make the most of every opportunity that presents itself.

Long-standing goal-shooter Romelda Aiken-George, another Jamaica international, also has an important role to play for the T-birds, trying to match Fowler-Nembhard goal for goal and keep them within reach of the Fever against national teammate, Kadie-Ann Dehaney at the heart of the Fever defence.

As the halfway point of the season looms, a loss could be tragic for either side, but a win will continue to help them build momentum and increase the gap between themselves and the rest of the teams.