NSW Swifts head coach Briony Akle has enjoyed plenty of great days with the Club as a coach and player, but last Saturday was perhaps her most frustrating.
Despite the Swifts preparing well in the run-up to Round 1’s season-opening loss to the Collingwood Magpies in Melbourne, the team never managed to get out of first gear in a disjointed performance.
The 71-63 defeat left the seven-time Premiers angry with themselves ahead of a Round 2 clash with the Adelaide Thunderbirds who came good against the Firebirds in Brisbane last week.
“Adelaide are good, very good,” Akle said ahead of the Swifts’ trip to South Australia later this week.
“A lot of people have been talking them up in pre-season and they looked the goods against a Firebirds side that came out firing at the start.
“But it’s funny how quickly a narrative can change. One bad loss for us and already our team is being written off, despite most of this group being Premiers just over 12 months ago.
“I said in the wake of last week’s game that we need to use that experience properly and not let us get rattled. We should be rattling opposition!
“Make no mistake, Adelaide will look to do the same thing on Saturday. They will be on their home turf with a loud crowd, but in a way all the pressure is on them to live up to the hype.
“Most of our squad has been through the white heat of Finals and Championship wins and succeeded. I want that experience to come to the fore, because we missed it last week.”
When asked where the main threats would be on Saturday, Akle was full of praise for the Thunderbirds’ 2023 line-up.
“They have always had world-class defence in recent years with Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson, but the attack really looks impressive now too,” she added.
“People will talk a lot about what Eleanor Cardwell and Lucy Austin bring in terms of targets in the circle, but I love how Georige Horjus and Tippah Dwan play the game too.
“It gives Adelaide wonderful depth to reward their possession gains and our midcourt will have to do a big defensive job to assist our circle defenders.
“That said, we have a huge range of options to challenge them too. Sarah Klau will be playing her 100th National League game, alongside Maddy Turner who is another 100-game-plus Diamond and Premiership winner.
“Paige Hadley, Maddy Proud and Romelda Aiken-George ain’t too shabby either… it would be easy to make it all about them this week, but I want it to be about us because if we’ve got to give ourselves a chance to win, which we didn’t last week.”
The Swifts and Thunderbirds go head-to-head at Netball SA Stadium on Saturday 25 March at 7pm (AEDT).
The game will be broadcast live on Foxtel (via Fox Sports) and streaming service Kayo Sports.
NSW's first home game of the year will be in Round 3 against the Firebirds on Saturday 1 April (Get Tickets).
MATCH NOTES
- When the teams last met in Round 9 last season the Swifts defeated the Thunderbirds 54-40 in Sydney.
- The Swifts hold a 10-win, one loss and a draw record in 12 previous Super Netball matches against the Thunderbirds.
- The Swifts and Thunderbirds have met 65 times in the National League since 1997 across the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, the ANZ Champions Championship and Suncorp Super Netball, with the Swifts having won 34, the Thunderbirds 30 and there has been one draw.
- The Swifts have won the past three meetings between the teams, including both meetings in 2022.
- The Thunderbirds' only win over the Swifts in the Super Netball era so far was in 2021 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with a 58-53 victory.
- The Swifts have played the Thunderbirds in Adelaide on five previous occasions in Super Netball for a record of three wins a loss and a draw.
- The Thunderbirds are coming off a 59-44 victory over the Firebirds in Brisbane in Round 1 and sit at the top of the Super Netball ladder.
- The Swifts are coming off a 63-71 loss to the Magpies in Melbourne in Round 1 and sit in sixth place on the ladder.
- Sarah Klau will play her 100th National League match in Round 2 against the Thunderbirds.
- Klau started her National League career with the Thunderbirds in 2016 playing eight matches in pink in the ANZ Championship.
- Klau is the only Swifts player to have played in all 91 Super Netball matches since the start of the competition in 2017.
- The Swifts' best quarter in 12 meetings against the Thunderbirds is the first quarter having won nine and lost three. Their worst quarter against the Thunderbirds is their fourth, having won six and lost six.
