The NSW Swifts are back on the road this weekend as the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball regular season reaches the halfway point.
After a thrilling win over the Giants in last weekend's NSW Derby, the Swifts are bound for Adelaide today ahead of a Round 7 clash with the Thunderbirds on Saturday night.
The six-time Premiers have a 4-2 record for the season to date and currently sit second on the ladder, just behind the Giants on goal percentage.
The Thunderbirds may only have one win on the board this year, but that success over the Vixens came after the South Australians only narrowly lost to the Sunshine Coast Lightning who also boast a 4-2 win/loss record.
Head coach Briony Akle knows the Thunderbirds aren't far away from going on a run but she doesn't want it to start at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
"We are very aware of how well the Thunderbirds have been going over the past few weeks so it's been a quick reset since the Derby last weekend," Akle said.
"To be honest we have been doing a lot of focus on ourselves to nail the basics because that's served us very well in the games we've won.
"I know it's only a matter of time before the Thunderbirds put four or five really good wins together so we've got to play great netball away from home, which we haven't done yet this year... that's the big challenge this week."
The 2021 season marks 25 years since the clubs first met. While the Swifts have had the better of things in recent years, Akle knows very little separates the sides.
"I remember in 2019 we were also coming off the back of a good Derby win over the Giants and we were hugely fortunate to escape from Adelaide with a draw the following week," Akle added.
"And I think this is a better Thunderbirds team we're facing tomorrow. They have Sam Gooden down in the shooting circle who nails those two-point shots in the last minute of each quarter.
"Although they've got strength in the Super Shot they have a strong midcourt and Shamera Sterling is one of the best defenders in the world."
Saturday's game will be broadcast on Telstra TV and Telstra Netball Live App at 7.30pm (AEST).
Match Notes
- When the teams last met in Round 13 last season the Swifts defeated the Thunderbirds 57-54.
- The Swifts are undefeated in eight previous meetings with seven wins and a draw.
- The Swifts and Thunderbirds have met 61 times since 1997 across the former Commonwealth Bank Trophy, the Trans-Tasman ANZ Championship and now Suncorp Super Netball. The Swifts have won 31, the Thunderbirds 29 and there has been one draw.
- The Thunderbirds and Swifts have had one previous meeting at the Entertainment Centre in Adelaide and the match was a 51-all draw in Round 9, 2019.
- The Thunderbirds are coming off their first win of the 2021 season in Round 6 with a 54-48 victory over the Vixens and sit in seventh place on the ladder.
- The Swifts are coming off a 63-51 win over cross-town rivals the Giants in Sydney in Round 6 and sit in second place on the ladder with four wins and two losses.
- The Swifts won all four quarters in their Round 6 63-51 win over the Giants. This is the first time the Swifts have won all four quarters in 2021 and just the fifth time they have won all four quarters in a Super Netball match since 2017.
- Swifts shooter Sam Wallace shot 58/58 against the Giants in Round 6, the third time she has shot 100% in a match this season. Wallace has missed just nine shots at goal across the first six rounds.
