In the first hit out of the 2020 season, the Swifts flew across the ditch to take on the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in a competitive pre-season match that showcased the immense talent of both Suncorp Super netball and ANZ Premiership.
It was a strong start and even stronger finish that saw the Swifts walk away with the win in the end, but the final scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of game's competitiveness.
The first five minutes saw the Swifts take control with an early 4-0 lead, but that was to quickly change in the next 10 minutes as Magic found their groove. The teams then went goal for goal, and Swifts only managed to increase the lead by one by the end of the first quarter.
The strong shooting combination of Kelsey McPhee and Abigail Latu-Meafou allowed Magic to come back and draw the score early within the second quarter, but with significant turnovers from Sarah Klau, and a few settling centre pass plays down the attacking end, the Swifts fought to finish the second quarter with a four-goal lead.
Starting the second half of the match with completely new line-ups, the clash continued with both teams stealing each other’s centres correspondingly.
This change to the Swifts also saw training partner and QBE Swifts Academy player Olivia Coleman take the court for the first time in the red dress for 2020.
With four minutes to go, the Swifts' hard fought five-goal lead was quickly taken away from them with two quick scores from Magic. However, with patience and composure, they scraped back the lead and went into the fourth quarter with the score standing at 45-50.
It was the four unanswered goals to the Swifts at the start of the final quarter that then set the tone for the rest of the match.
After another five minutes, the Swifts extended their lead to 11, which was the largest margin of the game, but it wasn’t achieved easily.
Magic’s circle defence continued to make the job of the Swifts attack difficult, forcing multiple resets in and around the circle. But in the end, the Australian champions had too much momentum and took out the game by 12.
MAGIC: Q1: 13, Q2: 29, Q3: 45, Q4: 54
SWIFTS: Q1: 18, Q2: 34, Q3: 50, Q4: 66
STARTING TEAMS:
SWIFTS: GS Sam Wallace, GA Helen Housby, C Paige Hadley, WA Naralie Haythornthwaite, WD Sophie Craig (Halpin), GD Maddy Turner, GK Sarah Klau
MAGIC: GS, Kelsey McPhee, GA Abigail Latu-Meafou, C Samantha Winders, WA Ariana Cable-Dixon, WD Holly Fowler, GD Jenna O’Sullivan, GK Georgia Tong
WATCH GAME REPLAY
