Take away the straight lead
Netball · Defence · 7 of your players and 4 opponents
The opposition’s centre pass. Our wing defence and goal defence stand on the ball side of the players they mark, right on the transverse line, so the first pass has to go long, wide or backwards.
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Their ball, our shape
This is the Centre pass defence: front the leads template. Their centre (square 1) is in the centre circle with the ball. Their wing attack and goal attack wait in their attacking third, which is our defending third, about 2 m behind the defending transverse line. Their goal shooter is inside the circle we defend.
Our wing defence (5) and goal defence (6) do not stand behind their players. They stand in front of them, on the ball side, right on the transverse line — still in our goal third, as the rules require before the whistle. Our goal keeper (7) stays goal-side of their shooter, about 2 m nearer the post. The gaps are drawn a little wider than real marking so that each pair of markers stays readable.
Why front
The easiest centre pass in netball is a straight drive from the transverse line into the centre third. Fronting takes that pass away: the attacker has to go around the defender to get to the ball, and the centre has to pass over or around both of them. That turns a simple first pass into a long, wide or backwards one, which is where turnovers come from.
Our centre (4) is in the centre third, free to pick up the pass that does get thrown. Our goal attack (2), wing attack (3) and goal shooter (1) wait in the attacking third for the turnover ball.
What to drill
- Body position before the whistle. Walk the defenders onto these spots until they can find them without looking.
- The over-the-top ball. Animate the attacker spinning behind the fronting defender and decide who helps — usually the goal keeper or the centre.
- Hold for three seconds. A centre who cannot find a pass has three seconds with the ball. Draw the play to that moment and ask what she does next.
Open it in the designer and draw the opposition's leads against your shape.
Also known as
- centre pass defence
- fronting
- wing defence
- goal defence
- turnover
Shapes to look at next
Centre pass set-up
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All fourteen players where the rules put them at the whistle: our centre in the circle with the ball, the opposing centre free in the centre third, and everyone else waiting in a goal third with a defender goal-side of them. The picture every other centre-pass play starts from.
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Centre pass split lead
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Attacking backline throw-in
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The ball has gone out over the goal line we attack. Goal attack takes it beside the post, the goal shooter holds on the far side of the ring, wing attack waits on the edge of the circle and the centre comes high as the safe pass. Their goal defence has to stand 0.9 m off the thrower.
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Defensive backline throw-in
Set piece · 11 players
A missed shot has gone out over the goal line we defend. The goal keeper throws in, the goal defence breaks for the side line, the wing defence offers on the edge of the circle and the centre holds the transverse line, so the ball can be worked out of the defensive third in two passes.
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Sideline throw-in, attacking third
Set piece · 11 players
Wing attack throws in from the right side line in the attacking third. Goal attack leads hard towards the thrower, the goal shooter holds in the circle for the second ball, and the centre stays back on the transverse line so there is always a pass that cannot be intercepted.
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Put the Centre pass defence: front the leads on a pitch
It opens with the shape already drawn. Move the players your team does differently, drag the runs, and send your squad a link that animates.
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