The NSW Swifts have retained the Carole Sykes Memorial trophy after a ding-dong battle with local rivals the Giants ended in a thrilling 77-77 draw at Brisbane's Nissan Arena on Saturday.
The result means the Swifts will play next weekend's Suncorp Super Netball Minor Semi Final against either the Sunshine Coast Lightning or West Coast Fever, where they must win to keep their hopes of back-to-back Premierships alive.
After an even first half, the game exploded to life in the second with the Swifts dominating the third quarter and their opponents fighting back in the fourth as the sides registered their first draw since the Giants were formed in 2017.
The Swifts needed to win to keep their hopes of a top-two regular-season finish alive, and were in a strong position to do so before Jo Harten produced the Super Shot performance of the year to ensure the Giants finished their campaign with a fighting draw.
A better shooting percentage for the Swifts means they will keep the Carole Sykes Trophy, which they've held since Round 1 last year, in their trophy cabinet for the off-season.
Despite letting a large lead slip in the closing minutes, Swifts head coach Briony Akle said she felt her side were now playing the netball she's been waiting for all season.
"Look I'm obviously gutted that we didn't see the game out at the death but with Finals already secured today was more about how we played," she said.
"I was thinking before the start of the last Power Play that a lead of 10 wasn't enough because Jo was in such good form.
"We made some silly errors in those last five or six minutes and when you have a player like Harten out there, she'll make you pay.
"That said, I was much happier with how we played. We've won games this season that I've not been happy with our play, but today - the last five minutes aside - I think we really showed what we can do.
"As we know from experience, every team has their path to follow in Finals and we'll be ready for what's ahead of us next week."
The Premiers were dealt a blow an hour before the first centre pass when Helen Housby was ruled out of the contest, which was set to be her 50th in Swifts colours, with a stomach bug.
Sophie Garbin started in the goal attack position and despite some confusion early on, she soon started to find her groove alongside Sam Wallace in the shooting circle.
Heading into the opening Power Play the sides were locked at 11-all as Akle called the first timeout of the game.
It was a thrilling shootout to finish the first quarter as GWS attacker Kiera Austin landed five Super Shots before Wallace and Garbin scored four in reply. The extra two-pointer from Austin meant the Giants took a narrow 24-22 lead to the first break.
The second quarter wasn't nearly as fluid as the first but it wasn't any less compelling as the physicality and intensity of the Derby stepped up a level.
When Natalie Haythornthwaite and Garbin had passes intercepted it gave Giants the opportunity grab control of the game, but Sarah Klau stepped up to snuff out what could have been a costly five-goal turnaround.
The second Power Play had more excellent shooting, this time with Garbin and Harten to the fore, with the latter nailing the last shot of the first half to keep the Giants ahead by two at halftime.
Strong defence in the midcourt, led by Sophie Craig, Paige Hadley and Maddy Turner, allowed the Swifts score seven of the first eight goals in the third quarter and turn a two-goal deficit into a five-goal advantage.
The Premiers started to flex their muscle all over the court with Proud and Hadley providing Wallace and Garbin plenty of ball to put NSW in control.
It could have been worse for the Giants but the classy Harten used the Super Shot to good effect to keep her side well in the contest at the last break, despite being eight down.
And would it would be case of Harten making the game her own again in the fourth quarter, landing five Super Shots at the death to get the Giants back on level terms with a minute on the clock.
Having been 10 goals ahead five minutes from full time, the defending champions suddenly looked rattled and all momentum was with the Giants.
Garbin had a chance to take the Swifts back to a two-goal lead from the Super Shot zone with seconds remaining, however, it came up short. The saving grace was that the Premiers had eaten up enough time to deny their opponents a chance to win the game on the buzzer.
Quarter by Quarter Scores
SWIFTS | Q1: 22, Q2: 39 (17), Q3: 62 (23), Q4: 77 (15)
GIANTS | Q1: 24, Q2: 41 (17), Q3: 54 (13), Q4: 77 (23)
Starting Teams
SWIFTS | GS Sam Wallace, GA Sophie Garbin, WA Natalie Haythornthwaite, C Paige Hadley, WD Sophie Craig, GD Maddy Turner, GK Sarah Klau
Reserves used: Maddy Proud, Lauren Moore, Tayla Fraser
GIANTS | GS Jo Harten, GA Kiera Austin, WA Maddie Hay, C Jamie-Lee Price, WD Amy Parmetnter, GD Kristiana Manu’a, GK Sam Poolman
Reserves used: April Brandley
Match Stats
To view full match stats please click here
