| CENTRES | Pivotal players linking defence and attack in netball |
| MIDFIELDER | Footballer between defence and attack |
| STAR | Pivotal player |
| CENTRE | Liqueur, ganache, praline or caramel filling in a chocolate; a player position in netball; or, the point in a circle equidistant from every point of its circumference (6) |
| NIL | No goals in netball - it's ludicrous, first and foremost (3) |
| TENNIS | Pick holes in netball and return for another game (6) |
| MOSHEDAYAN | Eyepatch-wearing Israeli soldier and former minister of defence and foreign minister who died in 1981 |
| GOAL | Score in netball, shoot a ... |
| GOALS | Scores in netball, shoots ... |
| LIGHTS | One absorbed in netball, dealing with angst across finals matches (6) |
| CONVINCE | What defence and prosecution both try to do in court! (8,3,4) |
| THEJURY | What defence and prosecution both try to do in court! (8,3,4) |
| SAMHUGHES | First World War Minister of Militia and Defence (and anagram of HUGE SMASH) (3,6) |
| AIRFORCE | A military body organised for overseeing a country's defence and security in the skies (3,5) |
| KARATE | A traditional Japanese form of self-defence and combat sport, using kicks and blows (6) |
| NETBALL | Seven-a-side team sport in which positions include goal defence and centre (7) |
| MODERN | Up-to-date direction taken in by Ministry of Defence and Royal Navy (6) |
| CAVEIN | Offer no defence and crumble (4,2) |
| THEMEPARK | Brussels politician opening flood defence and leisure centre |
| AIKIDO | Japanese form of self defence and martial art similar to judo (6) |
