The Telkom Netball League Power Week 2 continued with Free State Sonoblomo edging North West Tshukudu 51-45 in a tight Division 2 opener at Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg on Sunday, 24 May 2026.
Sonoblomo goal attack Leane Otto was the standout, her work in the attacking circle earning the Player of the Match award.
The Division 2 programme again proved its billing as the league’s most relentless proving ground. The Northern Cape Diamonds bounced back from successive defeats to see off the Limpopo Lilies 52-40, with goal attack Jana Swart in clinical form to claim the Player of the Match award, her second of the season.
The day’s tightest finish came when the Kingdom Queens and the Mpumalanga Sunbirds could not be separated, sharing the spoils in a 50-50 stalemate. Sunbirds captain Livy Owen marshalled her side superbly and was named Player of the Match, a second such honour of the campaign, as both teams took a point from a contest that ebbed and flowed to the final whistle.
Free State Sonoblomo were back in action later in the day and made it two wins from two, overpowering the Eastern Cape Comets 56-39. Goal shooter Zeluleko Ntombela was unstoppable under the post, claiming a third Player of the Match award of the season and underlining her billing as one of Division 2’s most consistent performers.
There was reward, too, for the Limpopo Baobabs in a losing cause. Despite going down 47-44 to North West Tshukudu, Baobabs goal attack Rochelle Maree was again the driving force, her long-range shooting earning a third Player of the Match award. Tshukudu responded well from their morning loss to take the points in that second fixture and stay in the thick of the Division 2 race.
Attention turned to Division 1, where the Southern Stings overcame a slow start to defeat the North West Flames 54-48. The Stings struggled to find rhythm in the opening quarter before working their way back into the contest and pulling clear, goal shooter Simone Dry earning the Player of the Match award for a display of precision and timing.
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Stings head coach Dr Freda Kemp reflected on a measured recovery afterwards. “I would have liked a better first quarter. I think we prepared for a man to man defence and they gave us an area where we took a bit long to adapt.”
Kemp pointed to her squad’s versatility as the difference. “I’m privileged to have twelve very versatile players, and the speed on wing attack was amazing. Simone Dry, which is, you know, just precision and timing was good.” She left no doubt about her side’s ambition for the remainder of the campaign.
“We’re currently lying second on the log and we wanna stay there, so that means we’ve gotta win everything going forward. So we take it one game at a time.”
Southern Stings Head Coach, Dr Freda Kemp
For the Flames, it was another afternoon of fine margins. Head coach Adine Adriaans rued her side’s inability to sustain their work over the full hour.
“From the start, our focus was on our centre-passers keeping ball possession and working from yesterday to today, working stronger on our errors, fixing that,” said Adriaans. “We did that, but unfortunately the full 60 minutes we couldn’t keep it up. So well done to the Stings, I think they brought the best out of us.”
“We have to go back to the drawing board and we have to go and sit down and say where did it go wrong, and the players need to take responsibility for the decisions now and what happened on court, and we have to come back and fix that. It’s all about building in our structures and then your consistency.”
West Flames Head Coach, Adine Adriaans
The headline act, once again, belonged to the Free State Crinums. The Division 1 pacesetters made it three wins from three with a commanding 68-34 demolition of the Kingdom Stars, their most emphatic result of Power Week 2. Captain Refiloe Nketsa led from the front and was named Player of the Match, capping a performance that extended the Crinums’ unblemished 2026 record and tightened their grip on top spot.
With the Crinums perfect, the Division 2 standings finely poised and several sides peaking at the right time, Power Week 2 rolls into its fourth day at Ellis Park with the competition’s shape coming sharply into focus.
Day 3 Results for Power Week 2 of the Telkom Netball League at Ellis Park Arena on Sunday, 24 May 2026
D2 North West Tshukudu 45-51 Free State Sonoblomo
D2 Limpopo Lilies 40-52 Northern Cape Diamonds
D2 Kingdom Queens 50-50 Mpumalanga Sunbirds
D1 Free State Crinums 68-34 Kingdom Stars
D1 Southern Stings 54-48 North West Flames
D2 Eastern Cape Comets 39-56 Free State Sonoblomo
D2 Limpopo Baobabs 44-47 North West Tshukudu
Day 4 Fixtures on Monday, 25 May 2026
07h00 D1 Zambezi Eagles v Free State Crinums
09h00 D2 Limpopo Baobabs v Free State Sonoblomo
11h00 D2 Northern Cape Diamonds v Mpumalanga Sunbirds
13h00 D2 Kingdom Queens v Western Cape Tornados
15h00 D1 North West Flames v Eastern Cape Aloes
17h00 D2 Limpopo Lilies v Eastern Cape Comets
19h00 D1 Golden Fireballs v Gauteng Jaguars
Original Copy: Kgotla PR for Netball SA, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Free State Crinums secured a commanding 68-34 victory over the Kingdom Stars, a result that kept the Division 1 pacesetters unbeaten at three wins from three, as the Telkom Netball League Power Week 2 continued at Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg on Sunday, 24 May 2026. All Photos: Netball SA
Photo 2 Caption: The Southern Stings recovered from a slow start to see off the North West Flames 54-48 in a hard-fought Division 1 encounter.
Photo 3 Caption: Free State Sonoblomo claimed two wins on the day, including a battling 51-45 result over North West Tshukudu in Division 2.
Photo 4 Caption: The Kingdom Queens and Mpumalanga Sunbirds could not be separated in a tense 50-50 thriller in the Division 2 programme.
Photo 5 Caption: The Northern Cape Diamonds bounced back from successive defeats to overcome the Limpopo Lilies 52-40 in Division 2.
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