It’s been a mixed couple weeks for the NSW Swifts in the opening three rounds of Suncorp Super Netball, but last Saturday’s win over the Queensland Firebirds was a timely reminder that team’s biggest strength is their collective nature.
The Queenslanders put in a heroic effort for three quarters of the Round 3 contest but ran out of steam in the final 15 minutes.
The Swifts, in contrast, rotated their line-up throughout the end-to-end encounter, absorbing the punches before storming home in front of a passionate crowd at Ken Rosewall Arena.
On Easter Monday the Swifts welcome the reigning champion West Coast Fever who currently sit top of the Super Netball ladder with three wins to their name, the most recent of which was a whopping 80-53 hammering of the Collingwood Magpies.
However, the West Australians were pushed hard in their Round 1 Grand Final rematch with the Melbourne Vixens and narrowly escaped a late Super Shot charge from the Giants when they last visited Ken Rosewall Arena in Round 2.
“I think the Fever will have learned a lot more about themselves against the Vixens and Giants than they would have done last week,” Swifts head coach Briony Akle said.
“They were pushed all the way but they found a way to win and that’s a sign that they are comfortable with being the hunted.
"It's the Premiers of the past two years going into battle on Easter Monday - how good is that?”
The Fever may be the current champions but the Swifts are seeking a third Premiership in five years, making Monday’s game a heavyweight clash. And while Dan Ryan’s team beat the Swifts twice in 2022, had a late Helen Housby Super Shot not rattled the rim instead of dropping in, it would’ve been a different story.
“We’ve had some very, very tight games with the Fever over the past few years and I actually think we match up well against them,” Akle said.
“Our last win against them was on the way to taking out the 2021 title. Interestingly in that game we survived a huge Fever fightback in Maddy Proud’s 100th outing and the reverse happened a season later when we almost hunted them down.
“Obviously most people like to chat about Jhaniele (Fowler) and what she brings to West Coast every season but Sasha Glasgow is also a huge attacking threat and a really good target in the circle.
“As well as that they have plenty of Diamonds in defence so we’ve gotta be firing at both ends and hope our engine room in the middle does their job.
“Against the Firebirds it took us a long time to get into top gear, and while much of that was due to their good work, this week is a different proposition. We need to replicate how we played in the last quarter on Saturday for 60 minutes to stick with Fever.”
The Swifts and Fever go head-to-head at 1pm (AEDT) on Monday 10 April. The game will be broadcast live on Foxtel (via Fox Sports) and Kayo Sports.
Match Stats:
- The last time the sides met was in Round 13 last year with the Fever winning 73-72 at Ken Rosewall Arena.
- The Fever currently sit top of the Suncorp Super Netball ladder with three wins from three games.
- The Swifts sit fifth, two points outside the playoff positions, with one win, one loss and the forced 25-all draw after the abandonment of their Round 2 game in Adelaide.
- The West Coast Fever are the current Super Netball champions, while the Swifts are chasing a third title in five years.
- Last time the Swifts beat the Fever was Round 9 of the 2021 season when they won 66-65.
