By Sophie Taylor
The NSW Swifts may not have started their season in style, but they finished it well with some outstanding down to the wire wins.
Not only did they have some great showings on court, they celebrated some big wins off it – including an impressive finals attendance.
And while they were hit with injuries to Allie Smith and Teigan O’Shannassy, as well as the delay in Sam Wallace’s ACL rehab, the Swifts always had some great developing talent in their back pocket and put them to good use across the second half of the season.
The Swifts finished their home and away season with the minor premiership and made it to their third grand final in five years, but fell short by a single goal in extra time against the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
BEST WIN
The Swifts had no shortage of nailbiters throughout the 2023 season, but nothing quite like their 65-64 preliminary final victory over the reigning premiers the West Coast Fever in a thrilling contest.
With impressive crowds throughout the home and away season, the Swifts played their finals at Qudos Bank Arena – and the venue provided the perfect fortress for the Swifts to get the job done off the back of their “eighth player”... that is, their fanbase.
Despite the Fever’s clinical game, leading by seven goals at one stage, the Swifts used the energy from their crowd to get over the line as Sophie Fawns starred from range.
The defensive combination of Sarah Klau, O’Shannassy and Maddy Turner worked in overdrive against long-range shooter Sasha Glasgow, keeping her away from the contest as the experienced heads of Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley held strong in the midcourt.
Despite coming into the final quarter with a five-goal deficit, the Swifts were quick to get two on the board to start the last quarter and give themselves a fighting chance with accuracy to post from thereon out.
Accuracy from range then allowed the Swifts to take the lead during the final five minutes, with young gun Sophie Fawns’ composure on full display in the dying moments to seal the one-goal win.
GAMECHANGER
The Swifts had plenty of depth in 2023, with no shortage of star power in all areas of the court.
But there’s no doubt Helen Housby was the key for the Swifts attack end in 2023, using her flair and game sense to continuously take the game on.
With great composure and accuracy, Housby provides more than just an additional shooting option – she's also a major threat who can draw the attention from defenders to open space and create depth in attack.
Housby’s outstanding season was evident on the stats sheet too, with 357 goals to her name at 84 percent accuracy.
She finished second in the league in Nissan Net Points, only finishing behind Jhaniele Fowler, and led the league for successful super shots with 97 to her name – 23 ahead of the next player.
FOCUS AREA
Realisitically, the Swifts’ focus area over the off-season will be to retain its pillars across each third to remain a threat in 2024 and beyond.
If they can keep some of their composed heads, they have plenty of exciting developing talent they can pull through the ranks as readymade replacements across the court.
While not a starting player in the Swifts midcourt, the potential loss of utility Tayla Fraser could be the real kicker, with the speedster able to ply her trade across all three positions and rarely coming off second best.
Fraser’s varied skillset could see her get scouted by other clubs, meaning the club’s next course of action would be to fill the Fraser-shaped hole let in the midcourt.
Training partner Lili Gorman-Brown provided a solid wing attack chop out this season, earning a couple opportunities on court – including the grand final – while fellow training partner Audrey Little could also be a viable option after being named in the 2023 21/U squad.
Amy Sligar starred in the GIANTS midcourt throughout the Australian Netball Championships, also finishing her spell with 21/U selection, so could be an option to change her allegiance and bolster the Swifts’ midcourt.
Additionally, the Swifts cannot look past the value of their current goal circle setup. Whether they continue with Romelda Aiken-George to post will bring the most intrigue given Sam Wallace will be due to return to the SSN stage in 2024.
