The Collingwood Magpies may only have one win to their name so far this season but they are still well in the hunt to make Finals, NSW Swifts head coach Briony Akle says.
The Premiers face Collingwood in Round 6 of Suncorp Super Netball on Saturday and will have plenty of lessons learnt from the last time the sides met in 2019.
On that occasion the Magpies did a number on the Swifts, who ultimately claimed the Premiership but not without some bumps along the way.
“When you look at their roster they have world class players in every position,” Akle said of the Magpies.
“You’ve got Geva Mentor in defence, the Browne Sisters (Madi & Kelsey) – who are all Premiership winners – as well as some of the best new talent in the league so each game they are closer to clicking.
“I was very happy with the way we bounced back against the Firebirds only 48 hours after a loss to the Lightning but the Magpies present a whole new set of challenges.”
Akle pointed to last year’s loss in Tasmania which highlighted how dangerous the Pies, under former Swifts coach Rob Wright, can be.
“We went down to Tassie after some really big wins, especially away in Perth, and Collingwood were looking like their season might have been coming to end,” she said.
“But they turned up on the day and beat us to everything and kept us out of the game all afternoon.
“Suddenly they got their tails up and went on a run that saw them clinch a Finals spot, and when you get to the playoffs it’s a whole new ball game.
“Perhaps that loss did us a favour on the way to the title, but it also showed that no team is out of contention in this league until the maths rule them out.
“With only five rounds played I think it’s crazy to think the Finals spots are shaping up already and our team know very well what Collingwood can do.”
The Premiers have four wins from their opening five games and sit third on the Super Netball table, just behind the Melbourne Vixens (1st) and Lightning (2nd) who also have four wins but better goal percentages. Collingwood meanwhile sit seventh on the ladder with one win and four losses.
“That makes them a real danger and in a competition where they margins are so fine it’s very easy to go up and down the ladder very quickly,” Akle added.
Saturday’s clash at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena is classified as a home game for the NSW Swifts and will be broadcast live on Channel Nine and Telstra’s Netball Live App from 1pm (AET).
