It doesn’t matter who the opposition is, Helen Housby says the NSW Swifts will focus on themselves ahead of the Suncorp Super Netball decider on Saturday.
The Commonwealth Gold Medalist and double Premiership champion is set to play her third Grand Final at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena and is looking to add a third title to her impressive trophy cabinet when NSW face the Adelaide Thunderbirds (7pm AEST).
After last week’s thrilling Preliminary Final win over the West Coast Fever, the England international is delighted to be back in the big dance.
“It feels pretty surreal, obviously 2019 and 2021 hold some pretty special memories for us,” she said. “We seem to like odd numbers so yeah, hopefully in 2023 we can do more of the same.
“The core group has been together for such a long time now that we just understand each other’s game really well.
“That bodes well for a good championship team and with that comes good individual performances, and you need great players around you to perform at this level.”
The Thunderbirds won an extra-time thriller against the Swifts in the Major Semi Final, but Housby has no thoughts of revenge in the Grand Final. Instead, she’s focused on looking ahead.
“I’d say more the excitement and will to win another Premiership is what drives me more than anything,” she said.
“I am not going into the game filled with disappointment or revenge, it’s more so about doing what we know we can do, sticking to our own game plan.
“We want to make this all about us. I don’t care who we play in the Final: that’s just the team thats trying to stop us get a Premiership. We are just fully focused on what we can do to control the outcome.”
That said, the Thunderbirds have proved themselves to be a formidable outfit this year and Housby says netball nous will have big role to play if the Swifts are the secure the Club’s eighth title on the weekend.
“They’ve got world-class players all across the court… to counteract it’s about playing smart and doing what we do best and keep our ball speed really fast.
“We know that we’ve got the players to counteract whatever they’ve got to put out against us.
“I think in the past when we’ve lost games it’s probably been our lapse in judgement, lapse in concentration, and not working that extra pass to goal that’s cost us.
“Hopefully in the Grand Final we can find that little bit of extra smarts to get us over the line.”
Saturday night’s decider will be broadcast live on Fox Netball (Channel 505) and free on Kayo Sports.
Match Notes
- When the teams last met in the Major Semi Final the Thunderbirds defeated the Swifts 64-62 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney to advance directly to the Grand Final.
- The Swifts advanced to the Grand Final after defeating the Fever 65-64 in the Preliminary Final. The 65-64 score was exactly the same as the Swifts v Fever Round 9 match in Perth.
- The Swifts hold a 10-win, three loss and two draw record in 15 previous Super Netball matches against the Thunderbirds.
- The Swifts and Thunderbirds have met 68 times since 1997 across the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, the Trans-Tasman ANZ Championship and Super Netball, with the Swifts having won 34, the Thunderbirds 32 and there have been two draws.
- The Thunderbirds Major Semi Final win over the Swifts was just their third ever win over the Swifts in 15 Super Netball meetings. The Thunderbirds' 64-goals against the Swifts in the Major Semi Final is their highest Super Netball score against NSW.
- Eleven of the Swifts' 16 matches this season have been decided by five goals or less or drawn including four matches by one goal.
- The Swifts have played in eight Super Netball Finals for a record of five wins and three losses including the 2019 and 2021 titles.
- This is the Thunderbirds' second Super Netball finals match and first Grand Final since they claimed the 2013 former Trans-Tasman title against the Firebirds.
- The Swifts have a 100% win record in Super Netball era Grand Finals having won both they contested in 2019 and 2021.
- The Swifts also claimed Premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007 (Commonwealth Bank Trophy era) and 2008 (Trans-Tasman ANZ Championship era).
