The North West Flames remain top of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League log after a Fourth Round in which the league’s younger stars proved their worth.

The Flames had two physical matches this last weekend, first against the KwaZulu-Natal Kingdom Stars and then the Gauteng Jaguars.

The North West team retained their unbeaten record to stay top of the log, but only by a single point over the second-placed Western Cape Southern Stings.

Dorette Badenhorst’s team beat the Stars 46-39 on Friday and then drew 52-52 with the Jaguars on the Saturday at the Ellis Park Indoor Arena.

But it was the Jaguars match that Badenhorst believes taught her players the greatest lesson at this stage of the competition.

“One thing they will learn is that if things go wrong on court, you’ve got to put it behind you and focus on what’s coming,” said Badenhorst.

The match was easily the highlight of Round 4 at the Ellis Park Indoor Arena, in particular the performance of 20-year-old Jaguars goalshooter Ina-Marie Venter.

Venter replaced Melissa Kotze after a first quarter where the Jaguars trailed 13-8. It was a key move by Jaguars coach Jenny van Dyk as they at one point drew level with the Flames in the second quarter, and then took the lead at 38-35 going into the final quarter. Both teams took the lead at various times in the final quarter, and with the Flames leading with only three seconds left it was a goal by Venter that saw the match end in a draw.

“She’s just a youngster and she coped very well with the pressure,” said Van Dyk. “I took Melissa off because she wasn’t having a good game, but Ina-Marie stepped up to the plate.”

The Free State Crinums maintained their winning form with a 64-24 victory over the Northern Cape Diamonds.

It was another match in which the Crinums’ young players showed their potential.

“I was so happy with the way they responded,” said Crinums coach Burta De Kock. “I even sent 18-year-olds onto the court.  I have now been able to play all 17 members of my squad and I am so proud of the way they have stuck to the game plan, whether the top players are there or not.

“The main focus of this tournament is developing young players and bringing them up to standard. We are taking things game by game, and I am very happy to see young players stepping up.”

It was a familiar theme amongst the coaches in the Fourth Round, with even Mpumalanga Sunbirds coach Jenny-Lee Delport praising her younger players despite their heavy 61-31 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday.

“We reached all our targets and I am thrilled with the way the youngsters played,” she said.

And Van Dyk also used the opportunity to give some of her younger players match time.

“I wanted to put them under pressure and they responded well. Although we didn’t meet all our goals, all the youngsters had half a game. It’s important to expose them at this stage. They have to learn they must be focused for all matches, even if they are playing a weaker side. Overall, I was pleased with their intensity. It was just the execution that was lacking.”