The Swifts have a long history of playing Finals netball since their formation in 1997 but never before have they battled for a Grand Final spot with a closer rival.
Since joining the fold in 2017, when Suncorp Super Netball replaced the ANZ Championship, the Giants have been quick to make their mark.
Under the tutelage of five-time Swifts Premiership-winning coach Julie Fitzgerald they made the 2017 Grand Final with five former Swifts players in their ranks, including club centurions Kim Green and Susan Pettitt.
They backed that impressive performance up with a Minor Premiership in 2018 and another this year to secure top spot at the end of the regular season; on goal percentage ahead of the Swifts in second.
Both teams are also owned and operated by Netball NSW, and based at Netball Central in Sydney Olympic Park. In fact, only two metres of concrete floor separates their changing rooms.
Adding further spice to Saturday’s Major Semi Final clash (1pm AEST) is the fact that Swifts head coach Briony Akle, who delivered the club’s sixth Premiership success in 2019, was a player for Fitzgerald in the Swifts' 2001 and 2004 title successes. They've met on opposing benches before, but this is the first time they'll meet in a playoff setting.
To say that the teams know each other inside out would be an understatement.
According to Akle it only adds spice to what should be a fabulous occasion for NSW netball, despite it being played in Brisbane’s Nissan Arena due to Greater Sydney’s ongoing COVID-19-enforced lockdown.
“Both ourselves and the Giants have been uprooted more than any other teams this year and I think it’s a real testament to our respective performance programs that the sides finished first and second on the ladder,” she said.
“Finals are a different beast and in Julie they have a head coach who knows them probably better than anyone else. She will always be legend of the Swifts but I know her competitiveness and skills as a coach and she’ll have the Giants humming for Saturday.
“The rivalry between the sides has grown to huge levels over the past five years and, like I said earlier this year, I think the Giants entering the competition probably forced the Swifts to up their game across all areas.
“While there are times when our contests get very physical, I think it’s a sign of respect for each other that we both want to win so much.
"It will be fast, physical and pretty brutal out there, but that’s what top level netball is. It's also what makes the game brilliant.
“The contest couldn’t be more evenly poised with us sharing the regular-season games with a win apiece and motivation won’t be lacking for either side.”
The winner of Saturday’s Major Semi Final goes straight to the Grand Final in two weeks’ time, while the loser will play in next weekend’s Preliminary Final against the West Coast Fever or Sunshine Coast Lightning, who contest the Minor Semi Final (also on Saturday).
However, Akle said the Swifts' only focus was on the Giants and nothing beyond that.
“At this stage of the season we have a really simple philosophy: win our next two games and we are Premiers,” she added.
“Even if Saturday’s game went against us the equation would stay the same: win two games (Preliminary Final and Grand Final) and we’re still champions.
“You can’t win two games without winning the first so why would you look beyond your next contest?”
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on Channel Nine and Telstra’s Netball Live App.
Match Notes
- When the teams last met in Round 11 the Giants defeated the Swifts 59-55 in Adelaide.
- The Swifts lead the head-to-head with five wins, the Giants four and one draw in the 10 previous Suncorp Super Netball meetings between the teams.
- The Swifts' 12-goal (63-51) victory over the Giants in Round 6 this season is the biggest winning margin in the 10 previous meetings.
- The Giants' 59-55 win over the Swifts in Round 11 was their first win over the Swifts since Round 10, 2018. The Giants and Swifts did draw 77-all in Round 14 last season.
- The Swifts are coming off two matches in Round 14, a 58-53 victory over the Thunderbirds and a 69-64 win over the Lightning and claimed second place on the ladder and the double chance in Finals.
- The Giants are coming off a 75-73 win over the Fever in Round 14 and claimed the Minor Premiership in doing so, and a double chance in Finals.
- This was the Giants' second Suncorp Super Netball Minor Premiership after also finishing the minor round in first place after the 2018 season.
- The Giants have a Finals record of two wins and three losses. The Giants won their first two finals matches (2017 Minor Semi Final and Preliminary Final) and have lost their past three (2017 Grand Final, 2018 Major Semi Final and Preliminary Final).
- This Swifts have a record of two wins and two losses in Super Netball Finals:
2019 Major Semi Final lost 48-59 v Lightning
2019 Preliminary Final won 60-47 v Vixens
2019 Grand Final won 64-47 v Lightning
2020 Minor Semi Final lost 62-67 v Fever
