The North-West Flames closed their season in style with 51-37 victory over the Eastern Cape Aloes after a series of ups and downs saw the team miss out on qualifying for the Telkom Netball League (TNL) semi-finals. Their win also secured them a fifth-place finish in the table.

From their first two matches, the Flames set their tone for the rest of the season. They lost their first match to the Gauteng Jaguars before clinching their biggest win against eventual TNL runners-up, the Golden Fireballs. The Flames then scored back-to-back wins against Kingdom Stars. Despite only winning four of their 12 matches, they showed their quality as a team and their ability to compete at the top level.

Martiné Jordaan, captain of the Flames said that it was challenging season for the team but that they fought until the last minute of every game. She also said that the team is looking to show more consistency for the full sixty minutes and not have any dips in matches next season.

“It was a challenging season for the Flames, as we set out to make the semis this year. We challenged ourselves to grow as a team and achieve new heights.” She added, “academics will always be a challenge during TNL as most of our team is still studying, and TNL falls right in the middle of exams. Next season we would definitely like to play in semis and contest for a medal”.

The Flames now look to carry the fight they had into the next season so that they can finish much stronger next year.