Two leads as far apart as the court allows
Netball · Attack · 7 of your players and 4 opponents
Goal attack starts at one end of the transverse line and wing attack at the other, so their defenders cannot help each other. The centre gets two first-pass options and a safe ball back to the wing defence.
Opens on a netball pitch with the shape already drawn. Free, no signup.
Width first
The Centre pass split lead pulls the two main receivers as far apart as the court lets them. Goal attack (2) stands 2.4 m in from the left side line and wing attack (3) 2.4 m in from the right, both on the attacking transverse line about 10 m from the goal line we attack. That leaves more than 10 m of court between them. Their goal defence and wing defence are drawn goal-side of each, about 2 m back towards the post — a deliberate exaggeration of real marking distance so the markers do not overlap on screen.
Our goal shooter (1) holds at the top of the goal circle, 4.3 m from the post. The centre (4) is in the centre circle with the ball, and their centre waits off her left shoulder in the centre third.
Why the wing defence matters
Wing defence (5) stands in the middle of the defending transverse line rather than out wide. If both front leads are covered, she is the ball that keeps possession: a short pass back into the centre third, and the attack resets. Goal defence (6) and goal keeper (7) stay deep in the defending third.
A split works because two defenders who are 10 m apart cannot both help on the same lead. If their goal defence cheats across to cover the wing attack, the goal attack's lead is open; if their centre drops to help, our centre has time.
What to drill
- Timing, not speed. Animate the two leads with one starting a beat after the other. The second lead is usually the open one.
- Read the centre. Ask your centre which way she would pass at each moment of the playback, and why.
- Use the back option. Run the drill with both front leads denied and make the pass to the wing defence the expected outcome, not the failure.
Open it in the designer, draw the leads your players actually make, and share the link.
Also known as
- centre pass
- split lead
- wing attack
- goal attack
- first pass
Shapes to look at next
Centre pass overload right
Attack · 11 players
Wing attack and goal attack stand together on the right of the transverse line, with the goal shooter drifted left at the top of the circle. Two defenders crowded into one channel get in each other's way, and if they both stay right the empty left side is there for a re-cut.
Read the setup
Centre pass set-up
Formation · 14 players
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.
Read the setup
Centre pass defence: front the leads
Defence · 11 players
Their 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 straight lead to the circle edge is taken away and the first pass has to go long, wide or backwards. The goal keeper stays goal-side of the shooter.
Read the setup
Attacking backline throw-in
Set piece · 11 players
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.
Read the setup
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.
Read the setup
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.
Read the setup
Put the Centre pass split lead 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.
Open in PlaymakerPage updated · Netball play designer · All templates