Shooting star

NETBALL: JANELLE Lawson is already making her presence felt in the Northern Thunder ranks.

The Australian, in her first season with the club, was the star of the show in the 55-45 win at Team Bath.

That made it two wins out of two for Thunder in the 2012 FIAT Netball Superleague season after victory over Yorkshire Jets in round one of the competition.

There was plenty of action in the opening minutes of this eagerly-awaited clash.

After trailing early on, Thunder showed their credentials, with Sara Bayman leading from the mid-court by producing several quick turnovers.

With Tracey Neville’s side converting from their own centre passes and punishing the Bath mistakes, ice cool Lawson inspired her team-mates into a 16-9 advantage.

A blistering start from Thunder in the second quarter saw them open up a 13-point lead.

The influential Kadeen Corbin was obviously considered the main threat by Thunder, as Kerry Almond and Emma Dovey doubled up on the England shooter in an attempt to rid her of any feeds.

Play became scrappy in this period and Thunder’s lead was cut to eight at half-time (30-22).

Neville made a couple of changes, including the welcome re-introduction of Karen Grieg, who was seen on a Superleague court for the first time since her injury last season.

Thunder’s mid-court dominated the third quarter, with Bayman working her magic.

Rachel Henry was linking the attack well and Lawson continued to score heavily as the visitors surged further ahead at 46-30.

The changes continued in the final quarter as Neville also brought on Eleanor Cardwell and Danielle Bloomfield, utilising 11 of her 12 players. The switches had an impact on proceedings with play notably slower at the beginning of the quarter while the error count went up.

Bath came back into the game, with their movement of the ball through the court a lot quicker.

However, it was ultimately too little, too late, as Thunder had already inflicted the damage, thanks to Lawson and her accurate shooting.