It's been almost two years since The Derby between the NSW Swifts and Giants took place on Sydney soil, but the sides are locked and loaded for a cracker at Ken Rosewall Arena this Sunday.
With co-captain Maddy Proud returning to the side after missing two rounds with a foot injury the Swifts are looking to build on their 3-2 record and put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Standing in their way are an in-form Giants side who currently sit top of the Suncorp Super Netball table after five rounds. Under the tutelage of head coach Julie Fitzgerald, who won five Premierships with the Swifts in the 2000s, the Giants are bouncing back from a disappointing 2020 campaign.
Not only are the local rivals chasing valuable competition points, they are also looking to win the Carole Sykes Memorial Trophy. Named after a coaching legend of NSW netball, the trophy is contested every time the Swifts and Giants meet in the regular season. The Swifts have held the trophy since 2019.
Briony Akle, who herself won two titles for the club as a player under Fitzgerald before adding another as head coach, said the scene was set for a thriller.
"Myself and Julie go back a long way and there is a huge respect for each other," she said.
"This year is the Swifts' 25th anniversary and I know we wouldn't be the club we are today without what Julie, and her assistant coach Jenny O'Keefe, gave for almost a decade and a half.
"This rivalry is pretty intense now... sometimes it can get very heated out there on court. It shows the passion both sides have, it shows netball at the top level is pretty brutal and what our athletes put themselves through."
Asked if she thought this was the biggest game of the Swifts' calendar so far, Akle was candid.
"Well, Giants are top of the table so yep this is the biggest game so far," she said. "I know Fever are unbeaten and working their way back after a points deduction but that game on Monday night could easily have been a win for Giants.
"Look, a lot of people ask if the Giants are now our biggest rivals and they definitely are one of them, but we have a long history that goes back with the likes of the Firebirds and Vixens which we've had for decades.
"Those long-standing rivalries which put the sport in the map shouldn't be forgotten... sometimes I think they are when new teams come in.
"What the Giants have done in recent years is make us up our game. It's a battle for hearts and minds out there and our players and staff know that too.
"We don't only strive to be better on court but off the court too. When someone comes into your backyard it makes you more accountable, and we have the biggest team sport in the country so netball is the real winner.
"They are the pacesetters this year and have been brilliant. They've had a tough week and time in Perth... it's a home game for them so they'll be gunning for us."
Sunday's Derby will be broadcast live on Channel Nine and Telstra's Netball Live App from 1pm (AET).
Match Notes
- When the teams last met in Round 14 last season the Swifts and Giants drew 77-all in Brisbane.
- The Swifts lead head to head with four wins, the Giants three and one draw in the eight previous meetings between the teams.
- This will be the first meeting between the Giants and Swifts at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney. This will be the fifth venue the NSW Derby has been played at since 2017.
- The 77-all draw when the teams last met is the highest match total score in the eight previous meetings, 30 goals more than any previous meeting.
- The Giants won three of the first four meetings between the teams while the Swifts won three of the four meetings between the teams prior to the draw when they last met.
- The Swifts are coming off a 62-53 victory over the Magpies in Sydney in Round 5 and sit in third place on the ladder with three wins and two losses.
- The Swifts are yet to record back-to-back wins in 2021 having won, lost, won, lost and won across their first five matches.
- The Giants are coming off a 66-67 loss to the Fever in Perth in Round 5 and sit the at top of the Super Netball ladder with four wins and a loss.
- The Giants' loss to the Fever in Round 5 was their first of the season and prior to this they have won their first four matches by seven goals or more.
- Emily Burgess made her Swifts debut against the Magpies in Round 5. Burgess has played 16 matches across the former trans-Tasman ANZ Championship (2016), New Zealand's ANZ Premiership (2020) and Suncorp Super Netball.
- The Giants have the second-best attacking (Fever best 66.6) record in the competition scoring an average of 66.4 goals per match while the Swifts have third best record scoring 59 goals per match.
- The Swifts have the best defensive record conceding just 56.5 goals per match while the Giants have the second best record conceding 57.2 goals per match.
- The Swifts are the most accurate team in the competition after five rounds shooting at 90.4% while the Giants have the lowest accuracy at 78.5%.
- The Giants are yet to lose a first half quarter in 2021 having won nine and drawn one. Their fourth quarter is their worst winning just one of five final quarters (won one, drawn one, lost three).
- The Swifts have lost just one first half quarter so far in 2021. They have won six, drawn three and lost one. The Swifts are yet to win a third quarter this season.
- The Giants, Swifts and Lightning are the only teams to sit inside the top four after each round.
