The Thunderbirds tried hard for four quarters but couldn’t slow down the GIANTS, who outclassed the Thunderbirds and looked like they could be getting back to their 2018 form.
It was a tight and scrappy start to match as both teams went goal for goal for much of the first quarter.
GIANTS shooter Jo Harten was red hot early, slotting nine of her 33-goals in the opening quarter – the first of which brought up her 1,000th Suncorp Super Netball goal. Her long-range shooting and hard work up the court stretched the Adelaide defence and gave her teammates a constant outlet pass going forward.
The GIANTS looked the better team in the early stages, but the Thunderbirds just wouldn’t go away, pushing the home team all the way to final whistle, trailing by just one goal at quarter time.
The pace of the game went up a level in the second quarter, with both teams looking to stretch the other and score quickly on the break.
With that speed came plenty of mistakes and flared tempers, particularly through the midcourt where the ultra-competitive Kim Green gave new Thunderbird wing defence Shadine Van Der Merwe a rough welcome around the circle edge.
The GIANTS got to work on extending their five-goal halftime lead in the third quarter, thanks to some spectacular defensive midcourt play from their young guns Jamie-Lee Price and Nissan Player of the Match Amy Parmenter.
Arguably the most intriguing match-up of the game was Australian Diamonds captain Caitlin Bassett up against Jamaican super-star Shamera Sterling. Bassett played an incredibly clever game against Sterling, who was benched midway through the third, holding her position strongly and giving Harten plenty of space to work in-front of her.
The GIANTS pulled away in the final quarter, securing an 11-goal win along with all eight bonus points on offer for the game.
The Thunderbirds will travel to Darwin for a home game against the Sunshine Coast Lightning to open Round 7, while the GIANTS will head to Perth to take on an improved Fever team next Saturday Night.
Score breakdown
Q1: GIANTS 15 v Thunderbirds 14
Q2: GIANTS 17 v Thunderbirds 13
Q3: GIANTS 17 v Thunderbirds 14
Q4: GIANTS 16 v Thunderbirds 13
Suncorp Super Netball Premiership Points
GIANTS – 8
Thunderbirds – 0
Nissan Player of The Match – Amy Parmenter (GIANTS)
GIANTS shooting statistics – 65/72 (90%)
Caitlin Bassett – 32/35 (91.4%)
Jo Harten – 33/37 (89.2%)
Thunderbirds shooting statistics – 54/63 (86%)
Sasha Glasgow – 28/33 (84.8%)
Maria Folau – 26/30 (86.7%)
GIANTS starting seven: GS – Caitlin Bassett, GA – Jo Harten, WA – Kim Green, C – Jamie-Lee Price, WD – Amy Parmenter, GD – Kristiana Manu’a, GK – Sam Poolman
Thunderbirds starting seven: GS – Sasha Glasgow, GA – Maria Folau, WA – Chelsea Pitman, C – Kelly Altmann, WD – Shadine Van Der Marwe, GD – Layla Guscoth, GK – Shamera Sterling
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