ROUND 2 Captain'scolumn
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Here’s something to cheer about! How good is it that the NSW Swifts are back! We wish them the best of luck with the rest of the season and can’t wait to see them in action. And here’s something else to be happy about… Save $75 on new comprehensive car insurance online* qbe.com/au *Conditions apply, read the PDS to decide if the product is right for you. QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited ABN 78 003 191 035. ROUND 2 Captain'sColumn Hi everyone, and welcome to our first home game of the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball season. I think it’s safe to say we’ve never had an off-season like the one just gone by, and it’s likely we’ll never see one like it again. When we won the title in September last year we never could have imagined it would take so long for us to take the court again, or Match Broadcast be playing a home game in Queensland. But Watch NSW Swifts take on West Coast Fever here we are and I would like to say a huge LIVE on Sunday at 3:30PM AEST on Telstra TV thank you to our amazing coaches, staff, or the Netball Live App. members, fans and partners who’ve got us to this point. The last four months have been very challenging and in the grand scheme of things in the Covid world, netball is not be all and end all, but it will have a huge role to play when we start to get back to normal STAY UP TO DATE and we’re glad to have you on board for the nswswifts.com.au journey ahead, even from afar. On a personal note I am so happy that we got over the line against the Giants last Sunday, even though we were pushed to the limit. And it doesn’t get any easier this round. The West Coast Fever made a winning start themselves last week and have class all over the court. They made the Grand Final in 2018 with most of that team so we have to be at V our best, which is what we strive to be every time we wear the dress. COMING UP IN ROUND 3: Together We Can. NSW Swifts V Adelaide Thunderbirds Wednesday 12 August 2020 USC Stadium, Sunshine Coast 5:00PM (AEST) Fixture subject to change. 3 REVIEW 2019 Season Recap When the NSW Swifts first met ahead of Australian Diamonds. Helen Housby showed just the 2019 Suncorp Super Netball competition, why she’s a Commonwealth gold medallist, and Head Coach Briony Akle had a simple message: Sam Wallace – in typically flamboyant fashion – prove them all wrong. There were glimpses of shot the lights out. No longer would the Swifts, what was to come when they contested the pre- the most decorated club in Australian netball, season #TeamGirls Cup in Brisbane in March. be lost in the wilderness. Eleven years was far Three solid wins against the Giants, Adelaide too long to wait for another Premiership. The Thunderbirds and Queensland Firebirds was a players, the coaches, the support staff, the club good return for a group expected by most to be staff all began to row in unison. lion-hearted, but ultimately out of the equation The World Cup came and went, and the come Super Netball Finals time. Swifts played a huge role. Despite the travails Then Round 1 happened. The neighbours, of travel, injury and huge mental pressure NSW the Giants, were expected to cut these Swifts returned to the playoffs for the first time since down to size. They didn’t. Neither did the new- 2016, surviving trips out West and down South in look Thunderbirds or 2018 runners-up West the process. Coast Fever. A stumble on the home-stretch at Their top-two regular season finish earned home against the defending champion Sunshine them two bites to secure the cherry of a Grand Coast Lightning in Round 4 would have been Final, but still no pundits were backing them. enough to derail a lesser group, but these When the Lightning won the Major Semi Final young Swifts were more than smiles and skill. by 10 to secure a home decider, the Swifts were Before long they’d sent the Melbourne Vixens expected to be cannon-fodder for the Vixens in and Collingwood Magpies packing, and when the Prelim Final in Sydney. But then the belief a cruel blow robbed them of captain Maddy came back. With everything against them, the Proud in Brisbane, they steered themselves Vixens juggernaut was emphatically halted. The home to secure a first competitive away win over Swifts were back in the big dance. Firebirds in almost a decade. Perhaps 2019 was Again the pundits expected the Lightning going to be a little different. to secure a three-peat. Most people had the Proud wouldn’t be the first to fall. Both Premiers winning by 10. It didn’t bother Akle’s attackers and defenders would be lost in the troops, it was simply status quo. But what didn’t battle too. In fact the Swifts lost three of their surprise Akle was the Grand Final performance. rostered 10 players to season-ending injuries, A 17-goal win, and a 27-goal turnaround against and others for lengthy periods. Despite this, the the Lightning since the last time they played. injured remained an inspiration for a group that “I told these players they were good enough,” knew their place at the top of the table was more she said afterwards. “All they had to do was than luck. It was validation. Up stepped club believe. Now I want them to push on and do this stalwart Paige Hadley and a host of others. Sarah again, and again.” Klau, like Hadley, would do enough to on court A sixth title in the trophy cabinet. These for the Swifts to gain World Cup selection for the Swifts kids were pretty good after all. 4 MATCH REPORT Round 1 Recap The Swifts started their 2020 SSN title defence However just before the first Rebel Power Five with a thrilling 63-61 win over local rivals the Giants of the game the Premiers harried and got back at Nissan Arena in Brisbane on Sunday. It was a within two goals. Both Wallace and Helen Housby game that ebbed and flowed from start to finish. were unsuccessful with their first Super Shot “Both sides put in a huge shift out there and the attempts but soon started to hit the target. NSW physicality was intense but I’m glad we got over the junior, Nicole Styles, also made her club debut in line,” Head Coach Briony Akle said. GD. The teams went to the first break tied at 17 “The team ultimately got it done and I’m very goals apiece. proud of their professionalism.” The second quarter was a scrappy affair with With Maddy Turner ruled out of the opening both teams lacking fluidity but when the Super Shot rounds, a huge amount of responsibility fell on the period hit, Harten was proving difficult to handle shoulders of replacement Lauren Moore and she from distance. didn’t disappoint, putting in an MVP performance. The speed and physicality upped in the second “Lozzie has had so many injury problems the half and the Giants were doing enough to keep past few years but she has been in the Swifts the Swifts at bay before defensive pressure and environment since 2016 and now we are really excellent use of the Super Shot gave Wallace the starting to see her ability come to fruition. That was opportunity to put the Premiers in the driving seat. a hell of a fight to be thrown into today and she In the space of five minutes the Swifts went from made the court her own.” five goals down to leading by three at the final Despite registering the first score off turnover break, taking the quarter by 21 goals to 13. possession with a beautiful Sam Wallace layup, They put their foot on the gas for most of the the Giants settled faster than the Swifts and good fourth quarter, and saw it out to secure the win and defensive pressure was causing confusion in the retain the Carole Sykes Memorial Trophy until the Premiers’ attacking third. next time the sides meet later in the season. Ladder leading into Round 2 P W D L GF GA % TOTAL Sunshine Coast Lightning 1 1 0 0 66 48 137.5 4 Melbourne Vixens 1 1 0 0 63 52 121.15 4 West Coast Fever 1 1 0 0 74 62 119.35 4 NSW Swifts 1 1 0 0 63 61 103.28 4 GIANTS Netball 1 0 0 1 61 63 96.83 0 Adelaide Thunderbirds 1 0 0 1 62 74 83.78 0 Collingwood Magpies 1 0 0 1 52 63 82.54 0 Queensland Firebirds 1 0 0 1 48 66 72.73 0 *Standings at the end of Round 1 5 2020 ROSTER Your NSW Swifts VICE CAPTAIN Sophie Craig Sophie Garbin Paige Hadley Nat HaythornthwaitE Helen Housby C/WD GS/GA C/WA/WD WA/GA GA/GS 16/5/93 177cm 6/4/97 184cm 26/8/92 173cm 9/12/92 174cm 19/1/95 183cm @sophiebear135 @sophiegarbin @paigeyhadley @natsymone @helenhousby1 CAPTAIN LEADERSHIP GROUP Sarah Klau Lauren Moore Maddy Proud Maddy Turner Sam Wallace GK/GD GD/GK/WD C/WA GD/WD GS 30/9/94 190cm 30/1/98 184cm 4/12/93 174cm 17/12/95 183cm 16/1/94 193cm @sarahklau @loz_mooore @maddyproud @maddyturnerr @tallsamsam4 Extended Squad Briony Akle Anita Keelan Tayla Fraser Leilani Kelly Nic Styles Head Coach Assistant Coach Rohweder singleton 7 OPPOSITION West Coast Fever CAPTAIN Jess Anstiss Courtney Bruce Verity Charles Ingrid Colyer Shannon Eagland WD/C/WA GK/GD WA/C WA/C WD/GD 20/11/96 175cm 8/12/93 189cm 19/5/91 170cm 27/10/93 165cm 16/5/90 182cm Jhaniele Fowler Stacey Francis Olivia Lewis Kaylia Stanton Alice Teague-Neeld GS GD/WD GK GS/GA GS/GA 21/7/89 198cm 1/1/88 180cm 29/4/99 184cm 17/5/94 189cm 20/11/96 175cm Stacey Marinkovich Head Coach 8 FEATURE Proud recovered and ready to lead Swifts' 2020 charge he may have had to lead the NSW Maddy Turner with me in the leadership team Swifts from the sidelines for the again.