It was yet again a tale of two halves for the NSW Swifts.
Intensity and pressure was at an all-time high tonight in the first game of the 2022 First Nations Round between the Collingwood Magpies and NSW Swifts at John Cain Arena. After a dominant first half from the reigning Champions, the Magpies fought back and took out the match by a convincing 8 points, raining on the parade of the Swifts Maddy Turner in her 100th game in the red dress.
In very similar vein to last week against the Melbourne Vixens, the visitors started strong and built a solid 5 goal lead early days. The connection of Housby and Singleton had defenders struggling for answers, and the defensive Diamonds duo of Klau and Turner at the other end didn’t make it easy for the Magpies attack. Despite a small comeback after a quick timeout, Collingwood still trailed by 3 going into quarter 2.
5 minutes into the second term, the scores were back tied. Experience, patience and leadership from Paige Hadley & Maddy Proud however, assisted their team in capitalising on the errors from the Magpies and the Swifts once again built their lead. A Housby Super Shot in the final five minutes helped take the Swifts to a 5-goal lead going into halftime. It was definitely still scrappy at times, but the Swifts still seemed to have the composure to regain control when it got close.
The second half was a different story.
The break seemed to do wonders for the Magpies, as the home team came out strong scoring 8 of the first 11 goals. The defensive lift from Jodi Ann Ward & Geva Mentor, in addition to the accuracy of Gabi Sinclair who came on for Sophie Garbin, started to cause havoc at both ends. Sinclair & Nelson simply couldn’t miss, both shooting at 100%, with 3 goals being Sinclair’s Super Shots. Ultimately, this was the turning point, as the Magpies took out the quarter 22-11, resulting in a 6-point lead going into the final fifteen.
The final quarter saw quite a few positional changes from Swifts Coach Briony Akle as she attempted to try and solve the problems Collingwood were throwing at her team. Teigan O’Shannassy was injected into the game as GK, shuffling Sarah Klau to GD and Maddy Turner into WD. Trailing by 8 with about half a quarter to go, Swifts called a timeout that then saw Allie Smith come onto WD.
Despite best efforts from the Swifts who managed to claw back to within 5 at one point thanks to a deflection from O’Shannassy, the Magpies were simply too clinical. Between Housby and Singleton, 3 Super Shots were managed, however it just wasn’t enough to take down an in-control Collingwood. In the end, the shooting percentages were the critical difference, with the Magpies shooting at 100% for three of the four quarters.
It's do or die next week for the NSW Swifts if they want to keep their finals hopes alive. The West Coast Fever are never an easy task, but a home game advantage may just be the key getting the reigning champions over the line.
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