After spending three months in Queensland last year, the NSW Swifts will be heading back to the Sunshine State to kick-off their 2021 Suncorp Super Netball campaign when they face the Firebirds in Brisbane on Sunday 2 May.
In what promises to be a classic Round 1, NSW v QLD clash between the old rivals, it will be the first time Briony Akle faces former Swifts teammate Megan Anderson as a rival coach.
In Round 2 the Swifts travel to Perth to face West Coast Fever (Saturday 8 May) before returning home for the first time since winning the 2019 Premiership to play the reigning champion Melbourne Vixens in Round 3 (Sunday 16 May). The clash between the Premiers of the past two seasons will also be the first official Super Netball game for the Swifts at their new home venue of Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney Olympic Park.
Round 4 sees Akle's troops return to Queensland to renew their rivalry with the Sunshine Coast Lightning (Sunday 23 May) before welcoming the Collingwood Magpies to Sydney seven days later for the sides' first meeting of 2021 (Sunday 30 May).
Giants will then host the first local derby of the year on Sunday 6 June before the Swifts make the trip to Adelaide to face the Thunderbirds a week later (Saturday 12 June).
The visiting Firebirds are the Swifts' final opponents (Saturday 19 June) before the team enjoys a weekend off ahead of the arrival of West Coast Fever on Saturday 3 July.
A massive away trip to Melbourne to face the Vixens is what awaits the Swifts when they hit the road again (Saturday 10 July) before they host the Lightning (Sunday 18 July) and welcome the Giants for the second Derby of the year on Sunday 25 July.
The Swifts' final away tie of the regular season will be a trip to Tasmania to face the Magpies in Launceston (Sunday 1 August) before Adelaide make the trip to Sydney for Round 14 at Ken Rosewall Arena (Saturday 7 August).
The top four teams at the end of 14 rounds will contest the 2021 Final Series with the Semi Finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday, 14-15 August, and the Preliminary Final set for Sunday 22 August.
The 2021 Grand Final, which will be hosted by the winner of the Major Semi Final, takes place on Sunday 29 August.
Head coach Akle said she was happy with the balance of the Swifts' draw and looking forward to heading back to Queensland.
"It feels like we are going back to our second home having spent so much time there last year but we are really excited about - fingers crossed - having a relatively normal home-and-away season in 2021," she said.
"We have a brilliant rivalry with the Firebirds after all those famous clashes down the years and given what they showed last year I think it will be a huge test for us first up," she said.
"There are no easy games in Super Netball and playing the 2020 Grand Finalists across Rounds 2 and 3 will also give us a really good indicator as to where we are at.
"We haven't been able to play a home game since the Preliminary Final in 2019 before going on to win the title so that clash against the Vixens in Round 3 will be extra special.
"The Vixens themselves have become Premiers in the meantime so I can't think of a better game to play in front of our members and fans for the first time at Ken Rosewall Arena.
"There is give and take with any draw and we have a lot of travel in the first few weeks, but every team will have similar challenges throughout the year."
The Swifts will play the first-ever game of netball at Ken Rosewall Arena next Saturday when they host the NSW Men's Open team (5.45pm) in a pre-season clash as part of the club's 2021 Fan Day. To register for the free event, please CLICK HERE.
2021 NSW SWIFTS FIXTURES (Times AEST)
- Round 1 - Firebirds
1.00pm, Sun 2 May (Nissan Arena, Brisbane). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 2 - Fever
8.00pm, Sat 8 May (RAC Arena, Perth). Broadcast: Telstra TV
- Round 3 - Vixens
1.00pm, Sun 16 May (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 4 - Lightning
1.00pm, Sun 23 May (USC Stadium, Sippy Downs). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 5 - Magpies
3.00pm, Sun 30 May (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast: Telstra TV
- Round 6 - Giants*
1.00pm, Sun 6 June (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 7 - Thunderbirds
7.00pm, Sat 12 June (Adelaide Entertainment Centre). Broadcast: Telstra TV
- Round 8 - Firebirds
3.00pm Sat 19 June (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 9 - Fever
3.00pm, Sat 3 July (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 10 - Vixens
3.00pm, Sat 10 July (John Cain Arena, Melbourne). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 11 - Lightning
1.00pm, Sun 18 July (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 12 - Giants
3.00pm, Sun 25 July (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast: Telstra TV
- Round 13 - Magpies
1.00pm, Sun 1 August (Silverdome, Launceston). Broadcast: Channel Nine
- Round 14 - Thunderbirds
7.00pm, Sat 7 August (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney). Broadcast Telstra TV
* Swifts away game
DOWNLOAD: Swifts 2021 Fixture
