In a thrilling and fast-paced match, the North West Flames dominated the Jaguars, winning all four quarters en route to a 60-57 victory in front of their home crowd. Despite being seen as underdogs, the Flames edged ahead 15-10 after a tight opening quarter and maintained their lead throughout, showcasing their composure and consistency under pressure.
Flames Coach Elsunet du Plessis credited the home crowd support for boosting the players’ confidence, highlighting the significant role it played in their victory.
“I think it is amazing to have the crowd behind you because we are used to playing without any support with us. It is a confidence booster to the players, it’s just nice to know that there’s someone there, there’s a big crowd that really support us and I also just want to give a big shout out to the crowd and thank them for their support. I was just telling them that the question now is how much you want it. If you want to let it slip, let it slip but we didn’t come this far to let it slip so we really need to work together and really play as a team to put us through,” said an enthusiastic du Plessis.
Jaguars coach Roxanne Matthyse commended her side’s debut performance, highlighting the impact of her three debutants and their ability to stick to the game plan. However, the Flames kept their nerve in a tense final stretch to secure a hard-fought win and continue their strong start to the campaign.
“It was a very difficult for us, we started slow and it was like playing catch up the whole time, but we would rather have this happening in the beginning of the leg and not towards the end. A lot of lessons for me as a coach and for my players. Taking accountability for one, it didn’t work for us on attack you know, every time you think find confidence and you build on that, there’s a mistake. For the Jaguars that’s not how we play, you know we set a high standard, and we need to make sure, we maintain that standard,” emphasised Matthyse.
It was a double delight for the North West teams as Tshukudu, a Division B side, claimed a convincing 52-37 win over the Limpopo Lilies in an intense Telkom Netball League match. The Tshukudu supporters brought the house down with their energetic cheering and vibrant spirit, lifting the team throughout the game. Their passionate backing clearly fuelled the players’ confidence, helping Tshukudu maintain momentum and finish strong in a well-deserved victory.
The Kingdom Stars bounced back in style with a dominant 57-23 victory over the Northern Cape Diamonds in today’s Telkom Netball League (TNL) clash. Both teams had come into the match searching for redemption after tough losses yesterday, but it was the Stars who quickly found their rhythm, taking control from the first whistle. Their sharp attacking play and disciplined defence left the Diamonds struggling to keep pace.
Stars Coach Nompumelelo Mthembu, praised her team after the victory, saying, “This was a critical game for the girls to lift their spirits and energy levels. We knew the Diamonds would come strong, so we had to push for more intensity and focus to bounce back from our 47-36 loss to fellow province rivals Kingdom Queens yesterday.
Meanwhile the Fireballs continued their winning streak in the TNL, racking up two dominant victories on the day. In their first match, they thrashed the Zambezi Eagles 61-40, carrying over confidence from their strong performance the previous day with fast transitions and clinical shooting. Later, they overpowered the SPAR Baby Proteas 68-35, controlling the game from start to finish with sharp attacking play and tight defence. The Fireballs showed no signs of slowing down, building on their earlier success to wrap up the day with two convincing wins.
Matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport Variety 4 channel 209. Tickets are available on the Netball South Africa (NSA) website here at just R100. Full Fixture can be accessed TNL Fixtures.
Additionally, the official opening ceremony will take place on Monday afternoon at 16:00 at the Sun City Super Bowl.
Full Day Results:
08:00 Fireballs 61-40 Zambezi Eagles
08:00 Baobabs 34-68 Crinums
10:00 Tornados 51-23 KD Queens
10:00 Diamonds 27-53 KD Stars
12:00 Jaguars 57-60 Flames
14:00 Tshukudu 52-37 Lillies
16:00 Comets 48-47 Sonoblomo
18:00 Baobabs vs Stings
18:00 SPAR Baby Proteas vs Fireballs
Monday 28 April 2025 Fixtures:
08:00 Lillies vs Diamond
10:00 Zambezi Eagles vs Baobabs
10:00 KD Queens vs Sonoblomo
12:00 Sunbirds vs Tornados
12:00 SPAR Baby Proteas vs Aloes
14:00 Fireballs vs Stings
14:00 Comets vs KD Stars
16:00 OPENING CEREMONY
18:00 Crinums vs Jaguars
