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• Caribbean players occupy top positions on Suncorp Stats Leaderboards

  Following another series of top-notch performances over the weekend, it comes as no surprise that Caribbean players continue to line the statistics leaderboards in the early exchanges of the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball League campaign.

  Jamaica's Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Shanice Beckford, assisted West Coast Fever to a thumping 75-59 win over New South Wales Swifts, the team of Trinidad and Tobago stalwart Samantha Wallace-Joseph, while other Jamaicans, Romelda Aiken-George, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, and Latanya Wilson, were instrumental in Adelaide Thunderbirds’ 69-49 win over Jodi-Ann Ward’s GIANTS.

  Fowler-Nembhard, an imposing figure in the shooting circle, scored 61 goals from 62 attempts in the Fever’s latest win, and remains top of the tables in several categories – namely, Nissan Net Points (490.5), goals (243) and attempts (248). Aiken-George (148 goals and 171 attempts) and Wallace-Joseph (138 goals and 148 attempts) are fourth and fifth in the goals and attempts categories respectively.

  Beckford has been finding her footing at the two-point Super Shot line in her debut season, but it is the 86 centre passes received that has her atop that category, jointly with Fever’s teammate Alice Teague-Neeld and Liz Watson of the Sunshine Coast Lightning.

  

  Samantha Wallace-Joseph (second right) prepares to receive the ball, while under pressure from Kadie-Ann Dehaney.

  Aiken-George retains top spot for offensive rebounds with 22 to her name, with Fowler-Nembhard (13) fifth in that category, while Sterling-Humphrey (8) has slipped third in the defensive rebound category, behind Remi Kamo (10) and Sarah Klau (8).

  However, Sterling-Humphrey is not to be beaten elsewhere though, as she maintains a strangle hold atop the deflections and intercepts tallies with 27 and 15 to her name. Her teammate Wilson sits fourth and second on the deflections and intercepts lists with 22 and 14.

  Meanwhile, Sunday Aryang and Ash Ervin have taken second and third for deflections with 26 and 25 respectively.

  Teague-Neeld remains on top of the goal assists leaderboard with 107 to her name, followed closely by Liz Watson (96).

  Sophie Dwyer and Kiera Austin have not shied away from the Suncorp Super Shot, sitting equal first with 32 attempts apiece, and both within the top five for successful attempts. Helen Housby sits top of the table for successful shots with 22 to her name from 29 attempts.

• Jamaica, T&T drawn in Group B of League A for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League

  Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are set to cross swords in the group stages of this year’s fourth edition of the Concacaf Nations League, as both were drawn in Group B of League A for the 2024/25 campaign which is scheduled to kick off in September.

  This year’s Concacaf Nations League will again be contested in a three-league format –Leagues A, B and C –and will see the Confederation’s 41 senior men’s national teams doing battle during the FIFA match windows of September, October, and November 2024. The semi-finals and finals of the tournament, which serves as the qualifiers for next summer’s 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, are scheduled for March 2025.

  The teams have been grouped across the respective Leagues based on their results from the 2023/24 staging. The Reggae Boyz and their Soca Warriors counterparts, who contested the business end of the competition for the first time in that campaign, will be hoping to do so again on this occasion.

  They are among 12 teams, split in two groups of six teams each to contest League A in a “Swiss style” league system, with each team playing a total of four games (two at home and two away).

  Jamaica, last edition’s semi-finalist, and Trinidad and Tobago, who made the quarterfinals, are drawn alongside Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, and French Guiana, while Group A comprises, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Suriname, and Guyana.

  After group stage play in September and October, the first and second-place finishers of each group, will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will join the four top-ranked League A teams, Mexico, United States, Panama, and Canada. The quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away format, with the winner of each fixture, on aggregate, set to secure a berth in next year’s Finals.

  Meanwhile, League B will feature 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams. Each team will play every team in its group twice. The groups were drawn as follows:
   
  Group A -El Salvador, Montserrat, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Bonaire

  Group B -Curacao, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Martin
  Group C -Haiti, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and St Maarten
  Group D -Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominic 
  Matches in each group will be played at a centralized venue instead of the previous home-and-away format, to alleviate travel challenges that Member Associations face.

  The third best-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, the second best-ranked teams will host the October matches, and the best-ranked teams will host the decisive November matches.

  Over in League C, which consists of nine teams, divided into three groups of three teams, the format takes a similar shape, where each team will play every team in its group twice.

  Group A -Barbados, Bahamas, and US Virgin Islands
  Group B -Belize, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Anguilla
  Group C-Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands

  Where centralized venues are concerned, the second highest-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, and the highest-ranked teams will host the October matches.

  Schedule:

  Group Stage: September 2-10, October 7-15, and November 11-19, 2024
  Quarterfinals: November 11-19, 2024
  Semifinals: March 20, 2025
  Final and Third Place Match: March 23, 2025

• Jamaica's 4x400m women, T&T's men book tickets to Paris

  Jamaica’s 4x400m women have also booked their place at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer by winning the second round heat at the World Relays in the Bahamas on Sunday. The same four women lined up for the heat with the difference being that Roneisha McGregor running the lead off leg, Charokee Young on the second leg, Ashley Williams on the third leg and Junelle Bromfield on anchor.

  The changes proved effective as the Jamaicans ran away with the heat winning impressively in 3:38.54.

  India is also on their way to Paris after they finished in second place in a time of 3:29.35.

  The Netherlands (3:27.45) and Switzerland (3:28.30) are also through along with Belgium (3:26.79) and Spain (3:27.30), a national record.

  Meanwhile, Jamaica’s men will have to find another route to Paris after finished fifth in their heat and failed to qualify.

  Trinidad and Tobago, though, produced a brave performance to secure a place in Paris. The quartet of Asa Guevara, Jereem Richards, Che Lara and Shakeem McKay battled hard to hold off France and seal the the final qualifying spot. Brazil won the heat in 3:01.86 with the brave Trinidadians finishing in 3:02.39.