Netball is a team sport, practically unknown in the post-Soviet space. According to some estimates, more than 20 million people are addicted to this outdoor game, but the vast majority of netball adherents live in Australia, New Zealand and the countries of Oceania. This material is devoted to betting on this sport, as well as the main thing that everyone who wants to bet on netball in Russian bookmakers should know.
Netball history and major tournaments
Netball is traditionally a female sport. Men only play at a very amateur level and their matches are not recognized by the International Federation of Netball (IFNA).
This “discrimination” against men in netball is associated with the history of the emergence of this sport. Netball was developed in the late 19th century by Canadian James Naismith, the creator of basketball. Naismith, who worked as a physical education teacher at the college, noticed that winter gymnastics in the gym seemed too monotonous for students, and decided to keep them busy with a new outdoor game.
At first, netball was just a form of basketball, but later the historical paths of these disciplines diverged. Basketball developed in the USA and netball got a new lease on life after spreading in England. In London, he was very fond of local students and later, with a reputation as an exclusively female sport, ended up in Australia and New Zealand.
The game takes place on standard halls. As in basketball, teams try to throw the ball into the opponent’s hoop, set at a height of 3.05 meters. True, in netball, the bow of the ring is already 7 centimeters, and the ball is slightly smaller and lighter than in women’s basketball.
There are 14 athletes on the floor at the same time, 7 in each team, the game is divided into 4 quarters of 15 minutes each. A special feature of the rules is that only two players from each team are allowed to throw into the ring. Also, in netball, you cannot dribble the ball, and the advancement on the court occurs exclusively with passes.
Unsurprisingly, Australia has won 11 of the 16 World Netball Championships – the Green Continent’s most massive female sport. The World Championship has been regularly held since 1963 every 4 years; in addition to Australia, titles were also taken by New Zealanders and netball players from Trinidad and Tobago.
Other important tournaments that are accepted for betting include the Australian Nationals, the British Commonwealth Games, the annual Netball Quad Series, and the Fast5 Netball World Series, a six-team event in the Fast5 progressive version of netball.
Fast5 matches are more like basketball matches due to the reduction of the squad to 5 players and the presence of a 3-point arc – in classic netball, any hit is worth 1 point.
Types of netball bets
At the end . Bookmakers usually offer a line for the outcome with two options: to win the first or second team, taking into account overtime. It is possible to draw in regular time in netball, but it is so rare that bookmakers generally do not accept bets on it.
Head start . Here you can bet that the netball players of one team will not concede to the other more than a certain number of points, or, on the contrary, the favorite will win with a certain handicap. In netball, both a huge difference in the score (more than 50 points) and a minimal one are possible: for example, in the final of the Commonwealth Games – 2018, England beat Australia with a difference of 1 goal.
For total . A certain level of expected points is set in the match line, which netball teams will gain in total, and you make a forecast – more or less this level of points will be scored.
In case of opposition between teams of different levels, the totals can exceed 120 – the favorite usually surpasses the mark of 80 alone. In the decisive stages of major tournaments, the best teams are gaining a total of 105-107 points per game. In addition to the totals for the entire match, in rare cases, the bookmaker can offer odds for the performance of individual teams.
By a quarter . Due to low demand, the bookmaker offers bets on individual quarters only in the loudest netball matches. These can be outcomes, handicaps or totals, only the result is calculated not based on the results of the match, but within the designated quarter or half.
Attention to player positions and current form
Netball is a largely neglected sport. This is why getting comprehensive team news and statistics is often difficult.
Only on New Zealand and Australian resources during major tournaments you can get a more or less adequate picture of what is happening. However, this can sometimes be enough in the conditions of the dominance of the national teams of New Zealand and Australia at all major tournaments (with periodic competition from the British).
Domestic bookmakers do not bother themselves with analyzing netball matches, so a sudden information discovery about the state of the team may give you an edge over the line on a particular day. It is difficult to find such information, but there is a chance.
Pay attention to changes in line-ups before big tournaments, to possible injuries – especially this concerns the positions of the sniper, striker and goalkeeper. Only snipers and attackers have the right to attack the ring, and these positions are occupied by the tallest and most physically gifted athletes – there is not always a worthy replacement. The goalkeeper is also important, and in this position are tall, big-swinging netball players who can block offensive shots.
The netball calendar is not very dense, there are frankly few matches, and you should not pay much attention to the results of personal meetings. Netball is a female form, where emotions and motivation decide a lot, so it is better to track the movement of the team during a fleeting tournament.
For example, the Quad Series test series is played over a week, with teams playing 3 games each. By carefully reviewing the matches of the first round, you will set the stage for the analysis of subsequent matches, get an idea of the form and team style of each team.
Where to bet on netball?
Netball attracts very little attention from betting players in Russia, so the absence of this sport in the lines of most legal offices is understandable.
Bookmakers League Betting , Leon , Fonbet , Winline and other leaders of the national rating Legalbet very selectively and occasionally offer odds on netball – mainly during the British Commonwealth Games and World Championships.