The Lightning lost their first few games of the season and found themselves on very shaky ground, but stormed home to seal a finals berth.

They then went on to claim the scalps of the Queensland Firebirds and GIANTS Netball on the road to reach the big dance.

Statistics from the season show that Lightning have leaders all over the court and match up well against Fever, but the ‘green machine’ were on top for most of the season for a reason, and will be very hard to stop in front of over 10,000 screaming fans at their home venue in Perth.

Preliminary Teams (In Alphabetical Order, By Surname)

Fever: Jessica Anstiss, Courtney Bruce, Verity Charles, Ingrid Colyer, Shannon Eagland, Jhaniele Fowler, Stacey Francis, Annika Lee-Jones, Natalie Medhurst, Kaylia Stanton.

Lightning: Caitlin Bassett, Kelsey Browne, Cara Koenen, Maddy McAuliffe, Geva Mentor, Erena Mikaere, Karla Pretorius, Jacqui Russell, Laura Scherian, Stephanie Wood.

Here’s everything you need to know about the biggest game of the year.

The Story So Far

The two sides met twice during the regular season, with Fever winning both times.

But really, there was nothing in it – both encounters were decided by just one goal (56-55 in Round 3 and 59-58 in Round 10), with only the order of the centre pass deciding the match in the second clash.

The Fever have averaged 65 goals a game this season, a number that rises to 66.4 per game if you take the Lightning games out of the equation.

The bogey side for the Fever was the Firebirds, who beat West Coast on both occasions they met. In those matches, Fever were restricted to 61 and 54 goals, with the Firebirds’ Laura Geitz being a stand out player in the defence circle.

The Match-Ups That Matter

Geva Mentor/Karla Pretorius V Jhaniele Fowler/Nat Medhurst

One of the key match-ups is the defence end of the Lightning coming up against the formidable Fever goal circle.

Of all four teams that made the Suncorp Super Netball finals, the Lightning combination of Geva Mentor and Karla Pretorius had the most intercepts combined of any side – and they’ll need to take every opportunity on Sunday if they’re going to take enough ball away from Fowler.

Pretorius leads the league in intercepts with 40 – notching up another seven against the Giants in the preliminary final, while Mentor leads the league in deflections with 102 and is equal with Fever’s Courtney Bruce in defensive rebounds with 28.

Fresh in the minds of the Fever will be that Round 3 clash when Mentor and the Lightning held her to just 39 goals – well below her season average of 52.2.

But therein lies the challenge for the Lightning. In that game, Fever goal attack Nat Medhurst was far more than just a third feeder, potting 17 goals as well as 18 assists to pick up the slack in on goaling output.

Courtney Bruce V Caitlin Bassett

While Fowler sits atop the goal shooter stat sheets, the Lighting’s Caitlin Bassett is third with 553 and has gotten better and better as the season has gone on.

C-Bass now comes up against fellow Diamond Courtney Bruce, who we know will throw everything at her green and gold teammate. Bruce is behind only Mentor for deflections, notching up 81, while she is third on the intercepts list with 37.

Expect to see plenty of physicality here – in Round 3, Bruce racked up 22 penalties in a bid to shut Bassett down.

Jess Anstiss V Kelsey Browne

This will be a pivotal tussle between two rising stars of Australian netball.

Fever wing defence Jess Anstiss has been a revelation this year and earned a place in the preliminary Diamonds squad for the International Test Series, while Browne continues to stake her claim for a call-up with career-best form in the back half of the season.

Anstiss might be one of the only players in the league with the speed to go with Browne, but if Browne can get the better of the match-up, it will prevent Wood having to roam too far from the circle, and allow her to use her timing to create opportunities in the circle.

The Key To Victory

Fever: A grand final not time to reinvent the wheel. The Fever simply need to do what they’ve done all season: move the ball hard and fast and use Nat Medhurst to open up easy avenues to Fowler.

The key defensively will be the Fever’s ability to keep their penalty count down and remain in play enough to build sufficient pressure. It’s that consistent pressure that often determines the winner in finals, and if Bruce and Stacey Francis can be disciplined then they stand a good chance.

Lightning: Confuse the space and take their opportunities. That’s the mission for Geva Mentor and Karla Pretorius if they’re to be any chance of limiting Fowler’s influence.

In reality no one can stop Fowler on a hold, but if Mentor can stay off the body and change her position at just the right moments, she’s a chance of extracting a poorly placed pass from the Fever midcourt. She’ll also rely heavily on Laura Scherian and Madeline McCauliffe out front to slow the ball down and force some high passes from off the circle.

If they’re able to have enough defensive impact, the Lightning has the speed in transition and the smarts in attack to put up a winning score.