Leading for almost the entire first half and taking bonus points in both the first and second quarters, the Swifts held a four-goal advantage at half-time. But they were mowed down in the second half by the Fever juggernaut, with the premiership favourites netting 74 goals to 68 – the first time in Australian national league history that a team has scored more than 63 goals in a game and still lost.
The Swifts added Commonwealth Games gold medalist and English Rose Natalie Haythornthwaite to their roster during the week to replace the injured Claire O’Brien, with the wing attack arriving during the week after winning her second Super League title in England with Wasps Netball.
But the biggest shock from coach Briony Akle came with captain Abbey McCulloch starting on the bench for this clutch match with Kate Eddy taking the wing defence bib instead.
Match Up
The numbers
| |
Swifts |
Fever |
| Mins in possession |
29 |
31 |
| Gain |
10 |
13 |
| Intercepts |
3 |
7 |
| Deflections |
19 |
17 |
| Goal shooting % |
87 |
92 |
The Swifts were willing and had the competition leaders on the ropes for much of the contest before the Fever showed their class as they grafted their way back into the game.
Star shooter Jhaniele Fowler was the Nissan MVP, but she had excellent support from Nat Medhurst (13 goals, 30 assists) and Verity Charles (24 assists, one intercept).
The Fever played a finals intensity match against the Lightning last week before travelling to Sydney from Perth, which could have been contributing factors to a slow start here, with the Swifts able to control the early possession and rewarded with an 8-5 break after five minutes of play.
With Medhurst finding Fowler with regularity, though, it wasn’t long before West Coast warmed into the contest and drew level.
Sam Wallace was heavily involved in the match in the first quarter, shooting flawlessly to help the Swifts take a 20-17 lead into the first break and also claim the first bonus point of the match.
The work of the Swifts midcourt made working the ball towards Fowler hard work for the Fever, and forced them to rely on long balls. It was a dangerous tactic, but Fowler showed her athleticism to reel in ball after ball to cut the margin back to just one.
One of the plays of the quarter came from Maddy Proud, with the Swifts centre diving across the court to keep an intercepted ball in play – a move that stopped the Fever from drawing level on the scoreboard.
The Fever looked set to grab their first bonus point, until the Swifts scored the last two goals of the quarter in under 10 seconds to put their stamp on the match, leading 38-34 and claiming the bonus.
The Fever came out firing after the break, peeling off a 6-3 run to close the gap to just one goal. It was a goal-fest for both sides, with the match setting the season record for the most goals in the first half of any game played so far.
It was the Fever who wrestled the momentum back to win the quarter by seven goals to lead 54-51 at three-quarter time.
A quick start to the final quarter saw the Fever began to skip away, pushing out to a 60-54 lead and forcing Akle’s hand, with both McCulloch and Haythornthwaite injected into the fray along with young gun shooter Sophie Garbin.
Despite having just two days rest after the plane trip from England, Haythornthwaite instantly showed her connection with fellow Rose, Helen Housby with a laser pass that led to a goal.
The Swifts fought hard and closed to within four goals, but could get no closer as the Fever collected their ninth win of the season.
Q1: Swifts 20 v Fever 17
Q2: Swifts 18 v Fever 17
Q3: Swifts 13 v Fever 20
Q4: Swifts 17 v Fever 20
Suncorp Super Netball premiership points
West Coast Fever 6
New South Wales Swifts 2
Swifts shooting statistics
Sam Wallace 35/40
Helen Housby 23/26
Sophie Garbin 10/12
Fever shooting statistics
Jhaniele Fowler 61/65
Nat Medhurst 13/15
Swifts starting seven
GS: Sam Wallace, GA: Helen Housby, WA: Paige Hadley, C: Maddy Proud, WD: Kate Eddy, GD: Maddy Turner, GK: Sarah Klau
Fever starting seven
GS: Jhaniele Fowler, GA: Nat Medhurst, WA: Ingrid Colyer, C: Verity Charles, WD: Jess Anstiss, GD: Stacey Francis, GK: Courtney Bruce
Nissan MVP: Jhaniele Fowler
