The NSW Swifts have been climbing mountains throughout the 2019 Suncorp Super Netball season so a hostile away venue for the Grand Final is just part of the course, according to stand-in captain Paige Hadley.
The Australian Diamond, who played in back-to-back deciders with Swifts in 2015 and 2016, is hoping it will be third time lucky for the Swifts at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday as they look to secure the club’s first Premiership since 2008.
Standing in their way are the two-time Premiers, the Sunshine Coast Lightning, who incidentally are looking to become the first team to secure a three-peat since the Swifts did so between 2006 and 2008.
“We know the challenge the Lightning bring and last result aside there’s only been a bounce of the ball between us,” Hadley said.
“I can’t wait to get out there and lock horns with them again. It’s never easy going to Queensland but to win Championships you have to climb a lot of mountains.
“We’ve already done a lot of that this year. They’re deserved favourites but no one picked us to get this far; all you can do is get to a Grand Final and give yourself a shot.
“So, why not us?”
The Lightning have been the standout side since Suncorp Super Netball replaced the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship in 2017, and Hadley knows the Swifts can’t afford to drop off at any point in the game if they are to pull off what most pundits would label a huge upset.
“In the third quarter in the Major Semi Final we really lacked intensity and weren’t safe with the ball,” she said.
“So on Sunday it’s about us sticking to the game plan for 60 minutes but mixing that with something a little bit different. We’ve come so close to beating them this year, but not close enough, so we’ll need to do something new.
“As well as that it’s about treasuring possession, because that’s what they did last time we met and we need to be better at it.”
The Swifts and Lightning go head to head at 1pm on Sunday. The game will be broadcast live on Channel Nine and the Telstra Netball Live App.
What Paige Hadley’s full preview chat in the player below.
2019 Grand Final – Match Notes
- When the teams last met in the Major Semi Final the Lightning defeated the Swifts 58-48 on the Sunshine Coast.
- The Lightning have won six of the seven previous meetings between the teams, including all three meetings in 2019.
- The Swifts’ only previous win over the Lightning was a 59-56 victory in Round 7 last season.
- The Swifts are coming off a 60-47 victory over the Vixens in the Preliminary Final in Sydney.
- The Swifts ended the Minor Round in second place with 10 wins, a draw, three losses and 36 bonus points.
- The Swifts’ 36 bonus points is the most of any team across the Minor Round.
- The Lightning advanced directly to the Grand Final after defeating the Swifts 58-48 in the Major Semi Final.
- The Lightning ended the Minor Round with 12 wins, two losses and 33 bonus points claiming their first Super Netball Minor Premiership.
- The Swifts will play their first Grand Final since 2016 in the former trans-Tasman Championship.
- The Swifts last won a Grand Final in 2008 when they won the inaugural trans-Tasman title against the Waikato/BOP Magic in Sydney.
- This is the first Super Netball Grand Final that will feature the two teams that finished first and second after the Minor Round.
- The Lightning will be looking for their third straight Super Netball title while the Swifts will look to win their first title since winning the inaugural trans-Tasman Championship in 2008 against the Magic who were coached by Lightning coach Noeline Taurua.
- The Swifts and Lightning have the best two defensive records in Super Netball; the Swifts have the best record conceding 53.75 goals per match while the Lightning are close behind with 53.80.
- The Swifts are the most accurate team in Super Netball converting at 89.9% accuracy.
- The Swifts and Lightning have the best two attacking records in Super Netball; the Lightning have the best record scoring 61 goals per match while the Swifts are close behind with 60.
