The NSW Swifts have dominated the Collingwood Magpies 85-56 to stay in the Suncorp Super Netball top two after a one-sided Round 10 clash at Ken Rosewall Arena today.
Wearing their yellow heritage dress to honour the legacy of the Sydney Sydney Swifts era (the Club rebranded to NSW Swifts in 2008), and with a host of former Club champions watching on in the stands, the seven-time Premiers put on a show.
A masterclass by game MVP Paige Hadley, who was making her 150th appearance for the Swifts, formed the backbone of a fine performance by NSW who now have a massive game with the third-placed Vixens in Melbourne to look forward to.
Collingwood arrived in Sydney after a torrid week of off-court issues surrounding their future in the competition and showed good resolve in the first quarter to keep the large Swifts attendance nervous, but after that things feel apart.
The Swifts won all four quarters for the first time this season and by halftime they just had to play smart netty to see out the win.
A huge second quarter from the Swifts was the big difference between the sides; NSW won the period 26-11 and from there the visitors were chasing the game.
Swifts head coach Briony Akle was able to rotate her bench throughout the 60 minutes with Sophie Fawns, Lili Gorman-Brown and Kelea Iongi all playing their part in a top effort by the hosts.
It means NSW stay in second on the competition ladder, equal on 30 points with the Adelaide Thunderbirds, but behind the South Australians on goal percentage. The Vixens, who dominated Adelaide last night, are a further two points back and lying in wait for the Swifts next Sunday.
It may have been their best result of the season so far, but the Swifts didn’t have things all their own way at the start. Neither side were completely comfortable in the opening exchanges with both attacks looking jittery and the defences coming up with some nice tips and rebounds.
Midway through Q1 Akle called a timeout with her side two goals in arrears and then NSW then lost co-captain Maddy Proud for a period of time after a heavy collision.
Despite that, Helen Housby showed top leadership in the Power Five to land a two-pointer and put the Swifts 17-15 up at quarter-time.
Back-to-back possession gains by Hadley and a miss by Pies attacker Shimon Nelson allowed the Swifts to open up an eight-goal lead early in the second quarter.
With momentum on their side Proud returned to the game and Sophie Fawns was injected to initially give Helen Housby a breather, and then Romelda Aiken-George. The Wagga Wagga native looked in great form when she linked well with her feeders and eventually the Swifts took a real grip on the contest.
As the game progressed the defensive pressure of Sarah Klau, Maddy Turner and Tayla Fraser ramped up and the Swifts took full advantage of their greater possession to impose a big lead.
Housby and Fawns landed five Super Shots between them before halftime to put the hosts 17 goals ahead.
Collingwood needed a huge start to the second half and despite being much more controlled and patient in the third quarter they couldn’t make use of the bonus possession that came their way.
Former Swift Kelly Singleton scored four Super Shots in the last five minutes of the third quarter but it wasn’t enough to stop NSW from winning that period as well (20-16).
At the last break the Swifts led by 21 and any hopes of a Collingwood miracle were quickly extinguished early in the fourth.
Quarter by Quarter Scores
Q1: Swifts 17 Magpies 15
Q2: Swifts 43 Magpies 26 (26-11)
Q3: Swifts 63 Magpies 42 (20-16)
Q4: Swifts 85 Magpies 56 (22-14)
Swifts Stating 7: GS Romelda Aiken-George, GA Helen Housby, WA Paige Hadley, C Maddy Proud, WD Tayla Fraser, GD Maddy Turner, GK Sarah Klau.
Reserves: Sophie Fawns, Kelea Iongi, Lili Gorman-Brown (all used).
Full Match Stats: View HERE
