Chaos in top-flight netball game sees the WRONG team awarded victory: ‘We were bewildered’

Controversy surrounded the Giants’ chaotic 86-80 win over Sunshine Coast at the Ken Rosewall Arena after the Lightning were initially declared victors amid a bizarre scoring bench error.

The Lightning, believing they were protecting a one-goal lead, played a keepoff in the final half minute of regulation on Saturday night before the full-time siren sounded and the stadium scoreboard showed them a 71-70 lead.

Players and coaches from both sides shook hands, Lightning shooter Cara Koenen was named player of the game and disappointed fans began walking out the exit doors.

But there was a discrepancy with the final scores, with Champion Data declaring a 71-all draw.

The referees and Lightning players had already gone to their rooms, but the Giants remained on the field expecting extra time.

They were convinced that a technical error had occurred and the scores were tied.

“We were always confident it was a tie and we even protested the moment the score was changed,” Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald said during the lengthy 50-minute delay between the end of regulation time and the start of the extension.

‘The players knew it was a draw.

‘When we came out we were a bit stunned.

“I would have thought there would be some kind of provision for what would have to happen next.”

The stats bank furiously scrolled through the match feed, examining every goal in the fourth quarter.

Twenty minutes after the full-time bell, the stadium scoreboard was officially updated to 71-71.

Before the season there was a change to the league rules that required extra time in the event of a draw, but an exception seemed an option when it was thought the referees had left the building.

The referees eventually emerged and were re-microphoned, while the Lightning players also re-entered the arena.

“(We were told) there was a score review and a draw,” Sunshine Coast coach Belinda Reynolds said shortly before play resumed.

“We’re a bit disappointed about that because we clearly had possession in the last part of the game, which we would have played very differently and gone to the post.”

Fitzgerald pulled off a shock masterstroke to start extra-time, replacing captain Jo Harten with unused substitute Matisse Letherbarrow.

The match continued and the Giants won in extra time in Sydney

The sharp-shooting substitute scored nine goals, including three super shots, as the Giants took the game away from Sunshine Coast with an 11-1 shot to start extra time.

It was heartbreak for the Lightning for the second week in a row after the Melbourne Mavericks stole a miraculous victory from them last week.

Before the controversy, the match had been a high-level thriller, with no more than one goal separating the two sides at each break.

Koenen had her first 33 shots, while Lightning teammate and Diamonds skipper Liz Watson had a whopping 36 assists and 66 feeds.

At the other end, Sophie Dwyer was a shooting force, Jamie-Lee Price consistent in the middle and Letherbarrow the hero on the finish.