Next week the NSW Swifts will host the Club’s annual Heritage Round when the Queensland Firebirds make the trip to Ken Rosewall Arena on Sunday 30 June.
The Round 12 Suncorp Super Netball clash will provide an opportunity for the Swifts to mark the 20th Anniversary of the 2004 Premiership, which remains one of the Club’s most important achievements in three decades of competition.
Under the tutelage of foundation coach Julie Fitzgerald and the leadership of captain Liz Ellis, the then Sydney Swifts (rebranded as NSW Swifts in 2008) overcame the disappointment of losing to the Melbourne Phoenix in the 2003 Commonwealth Bank Trophy Grand Final to gain sweet revenge in the decider one year later. (The Phoenix later merged with Melbourne Kestrels to form the Melbourne Vixens in 2008).
Sydney Olympic Park, the scene of so many Swifts triumphs down the years, provided a fitting backdrop when thousands of netball fans descended on Qudos Bank Arena.
They were treated to a game for the ages which came down to the last play. The Phoenix side was coached by Lisa Alexander and her players had a proven pedigree with the likes of Sharelle McMahon in attack.
However, not unlike the current squad, in 2004 the Swifts had a team stacked with athletes who would go on to become Centurions of the Club.
Alongside Ellis there were the likes of Catherine Cox, Selina Gilsenan, Megan Anderson, Ali Broadbent, Kim Green and Vanessa Ware. There was also current head coach Briony Akle, playing her final game before embarking on a coaching odyssey.
Cox was a standout with 36 Grand Final goals and she was ably aided by another shooting legend in Anderson, but it was Broadbent who proved to be the hero of the night. It was her intercept that stymied the Phoenix at the death and sent the crowd into raptures.
The end result? Swifts 52, Phoenix 51.
Perhaps the scene of the night was Ellis’s fulltime embrace of Cox, who had just claimed her first Premiership with her hometown team.
Ali Broadbent came up with a huge defensive play to help the Swifts secure the 2004 Premiership.“The 2004 Commonwealth Bank Trophy win was the Swifts’ second Premiership, but it was also the win that truly put the Club on the sporting map,” Akle says.
“Good teams win one title but great teams back it up and winning the second title a few years after the first was a real validation for the group.
“Of course, many of that group would go on to win three more titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008, but that one-goal win over the Phoenix provided a belief that the Swifts are never out of a fight.
“While the Swifts of today are their own people and have achieved title wins of their own, I see a real parallel with them and the core group I was lucky enough to play with.
“Not only did we have exceptional players, there was a genuine care for each other and that’s always been a hallmark of the Swifts since.”
In Round 12 this year the players will once again don the Swifts’ Heritage Dress, which incorporates the yellow and blue colour scheme from when the Club was known as the Sydney Swifts (1997-2007).
The Heritage concept was introduced in 2021 when the Swifts celebrated their 25th Anniversary, and it has since become an immensely popular round on the Club calendar.
TICKETS
- To get your tickets for Heritage Round, head to Ticketmaster.
