How to Defend a Tall Shooter in Netball When You’re the Shorter Defender
Coming up against a GS who has several inches on you can feel like somebody has handed them a fairly significant head start.
But being the shorter defender doesn’t mean spending four quarters trying to out-jump a player who was always going to win that particular battle.
If you’re working out how to defend a tall shooter in netball, the smarter approach is to make height less useful in the first place.
In this video, PreSeasonPro looks at how a shorter circle defender can use body position, footwork and space to make life considerably harder for a tall shooter.
Stop Trying To Match Their Height
One of the big mistakes highlighted in the video is leaning backwards into the shooter and trying to stay tall against them.
It feels logical. If they’re tall, surely you need to make yourself taller too?
In reality, leaning back can leave you less stable and slower to react when the shooter moves.
Instead, lower your centre of gravity, keep your body more upright and work from a strong base. Being shorter can actually help here. A low, balanced defender who is ready to move can be surprisingly difficult for a shooter to shift.
The goal isn’t to become taller for three seconds. It’s to be in a better position to move first.
Protect The Space You Don’t Want Them To Have
Against a tall GS, where they receive the ball matters enormously.
PreSeasonPro’s advice is particularly strong on protecting the baseline. Allow a tall shooter to settle close to the post with a comfortable angle and you’ve made an already difficult match-up even easier for them.
So make them work for that space.
Use your body position and footwork to encourage them higher in the circle and away from the areas where they most want to receive.
This also gives the defenders further up court a better chance of putting pressure on the feed.
You may not be able to change the height difference, but you can absolutely make the pass into the shooter less straightforward.
Keep Your Feet Working
A tall holding shooter is at her happiest when she can set up, show the feeder exactly where she wants the ball and wait for it to arrive.
Don’t make that easy.
Keep adjusting your position around her rather than settling into one spot. Stay active enough that both the shooter and feeder have to keep reassessing where the space is.
This is where the second video, from Netball With Chan, gives a really useful real-game example.
The clip shows Melbourne Mavericks defender Jessie Grenvold against Grace Nweke, with Grenvold constantly moving her feet around the taller shooter rather than allowing Nweke to establish a clean hold.
That movement makes the picture much less comfortable for the feeders.
Then, when the ball moves towards the GA, Grenvold recognises the opportunity, leaves the GS and attacks the pass instead.
Intercept.
It’s a good reminder that defending a tall shooter doesn’t necessarily mean being attached to her for the entire possession. Sometimes the best defensive option comes from creating uncertainty around the shooter, reading what happens next and being prepared to leave your player when the opportunity is there.
@netballwithchan Jessie Grenvold is in absolute beast mode atm and shes showing us how you can beat a world class tall GS! 💙🥶 #netball #suncorpnetball #melbournemavericks #netballgoalkeeper #howtodefendinnetball ♬ Beat - beaty
Don’t Just Defend The Ball
Another interesting point from PreSeasonPro is to think about what the shooter can actually see.
Against a much taller player, simply putting both hands straight above your own head may still leave you contesting well below the height at which they release the ball.
Instead, think about disrupting their view and making their decisions less comfortable.
Once the shooter has possession, you still need to defend legally and respect the required distance, but your hand position can make the ring or an available passing option harder to see.
The aim isn’t necessarily to block the ball itself every time.
Sometimes you're just trying to make the shooter hesitate, adjust or choose something they would rather not do.
And Then There’s The Rebound
You’ve done all that work. The shooter finally takes the shot.
Don’t switch off now.
Getting good rebounding position matters even more when you're giving away height. Establish your position early, hold your space legally and make the shooter work to get back underneath the post.
A tall shooter collecting her own rebound over and over again can make a defender’s afternoon feel very long.
Take that second opportunity away and suddenly the height advantage becomes much less comfortable.
Make The Game Uncomfortable For Them
There probably isn’t one magic technique for defending a tall GS in netball, particularly when that shooter is also strong, experienced and very good at holding.
The answer is often a mixture.
Stay balanced rather than leaning into them. Protect valuable space. Keep moving your feet so the hold never feels completely settled. Make the feeders think twice about where the ball is going. Then be ready to attack anything that becomes interceptable.
Most importantly, don’t spend the whole game trying to beat a tall shooter at being tall.
Give her a different problem instead.