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How to Intercept in Netball

How to intercept in netball: creating the interception rather than reacting, why diagonal passes are easiest to take, timing your move, and drills to practise.

Written by Claire McDonald · Last updated

Good interceptions are set up, not chased. Cover the pass you don't want thrown so the passer chooses the one you've left open, keep still until the ball is released, then attack it in flight. Diagonal passes are the easiest to take because they spend longest in the air.

An interception wins the ball outright, which makes it the most valuable thing a defender can do — and the riskiest, because a failed attempt usually leaves your opponent completely free. World Netball's coaching material describes intercepting as being all about timing and the ability to read the game and the pathway of the ball.

Create the intercept, don't just react

The key idea in World Netball's coaching manual is that good defenders create interceptions rather than simply reacting to the pass. If you stand halfway between two receivers waiting to see where the ball goes, you're always a step behind. Instead, take one option away and invite the pass you want.

Creating a diagonal intercept Passer A is at the top with receivers B and C below on either side. Defender D stands on the line of the straight pass from A to B, covering it. A passes diagonally to C instead, and D runs across to intercept that pass in flight. A B C D 1 2
Create the intercept rather than react to it. Filled circles are attackers; D is the defender.
  1. D covers the straight pass to B, encouraging A to pass diagonally to C instead.
  2. As A releases the ball, D runs across to take the diagonal pass in flight. Diagonal passes take longer to reach the receiver, which is what makes them the easiest to intercept.

In the example above, D stands on the line of the straight pass to B. The passer sees B covered and throws to C — the pass D was waiting for. As the ball leaves the passer's hands, D is already running to take it.

Why diagonal passes are easiest

The manual singles out diagonal passes as the easiest to intercept, because the ball takes longer to reach the receiver. A short, straight pass gives you almost no time; a long diagonal one across court gives you the chance to cover ground while it's in the air.

Keep still, then go

All movement should be in relation to a ball in flight. Be ready, but make only limited movement before the pass is released — move too soon and the pass may not be made, or a different pass is used to beat you. Once the ball is released, commit fully: a hesitant half-reach rarely wins the ball and leaves you out of position if it fails.

The same timing applies to semi-loose marking, where you stand slightly off your opponent so they look free, then move as the ball is thrown (see how to mark).

Reading the passer

The best interceptions start before the ball is released. A passer's shoulders, eyes, feet and the position of the ball often give away the pass a fraction of a second early. Reading those cues — rather than reacting only once the ball is in the air — is what turns a quick defender into an effective interceptor.

Tip it if you can't take it

Not every pass can be caught cleanly. If you can only reach it, a tip with your front hand that knocks the ball off its path is still valuable — World Netball's drills include tipping the ball and then retrieving it. Deflecting the ball can be a better choice than a full-stretch catch that fails and leaves your opponent free.

  • Off the ball, you can stretch your arms to catch, deflect or intercept a pass even within 0.9m of an opponent — what you can't do is hold your arms out to block their movement (see obstruction).
  • Going through an opponent to reach the ball is contact, even if you get there first.
  • If your opponent already has the ball, you must be 0.9m from their landing foot to try to tip or intercept their pass.

Picking your moments

Interception has to be balanced against the discipline of marking. A defender who gambles on every pass leaves gaps a good attacking team will use. Team systems such as zone defence are designed to set up interceptions deliberately — for example by inviting a long clearing pass that can be picked off.

How to practise

Two practices from World Netball's coaching manual:

  • Clap ball. Players stand in a circle and pass to each other; the receiver must clap before catching. Clap without receiving the pass, or catch without clapping, and you're out. The passer can fake, but every pass must be well directed and not too hard. It trains reacting to a ball in flight.
  • Diagonal intercepts. Set up the layout in the diagram: A passes to B or C, and D covers the straight pass to B to encourage the pass to C, then intercepts it in a running action. Pass the ball back, reset, and work for five or six intercepts before changing roles.

See also the interception reaction drill and piggy in the middle.

Sources

All information on this page is given to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing (October 2026), after referring to the official sources below.

Common mistakes

  • Moving before the ball is released, so the passer simply throws somewhere else.
  • Standing halfway between two receivers and reacting, instead of covering one pass to invite the other.
  • Half-committing — a hesitant reach rarely wins the ball and often leaves your opponent free.
  • Going for the ball through an opponent and conceding contact.