Heat on as finals arrive

By Sophie Taylor

A season of ups and downs has culminated in a thrilling finals berth for four teams and everything on the line this weekend.

It’s make-or-break for the West Coast Fever and Sunshine Coast Lightning while the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Melbourne Vixens will fight to the finish to access the fast lane to the Grand Final.

There’s no denying it. Everything is on the line, and only three sides will make it through another blockbuster weekend of action.

Three teams could have been named minor premiers prior to the final round of the season, and while the Thunderbirds took out that mantle at the end of the final match of the round, it is anyone’s game once the post-season arrives.

With intriguing battles across the court, we run through the upcoming Semi Final Weekend.

WHO HEADS STRAIGHT INTO THE GRAND FINAL?

The Thunderbirds host the Vixens on Sunday night and will lay it all on the line with a chance of a quick path to the grand final on August 3.

Both teams finished on the same win record for the season (11-3) with the Thunderbirds clinching the minor premiership off the back of a tremendous percentage.

Both teams have the potential to come out on top in the Major Semi Final, having both claimed a victory over the other throughout the season.

But looking at respective form coming into finals, there is just no denying the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds lost just three games during the home and away season, and while one of those was against the Vixens back in Round 2 – by just one goal – they haven’t lost a match since the beginning of June.

The Thunderbirds’ six-game winning streak has well and truly set up their minor premiership tilt, leapfrogging both the Vixens and Fever with their late-season form and percentage boost.

As for the Vixens, things haven’t been quite as simple.

A massive start from the Melbourne side had the Vixens looking like early premiership favourites but back-to-back losses to fellow top four sides in the last three rounds put them back in the contenders category.

 There are two matchups that will be key.

The fight between young gun Tayla Williams and experienced head Kate Moloney will be a thriller, with both players in impressive form and able to turn a game in the blink of an eye.

Inside the circle, the battle between Sophie Garbin and Shamera Sterling-Humphrey could make or break this match for both sides.

Garbin and opposition goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George tie for goals scored this season, sitting in third and fourth with 517 goals apiece.

Garbin’s 88% accuracy just beats Aiken-George’s 87%, but it pipped – quite literally at the post by Aiken-George’s offensive rebounding stats (69 to Garbin’s 45).

Vixens goal attack Kiera Austin is the highest goal attack on the goaling leaderboard, shooting at 79% with 293 goals to her name.

Thunderbirds’ Georgie Horjus is the highest on court for goal assists with 230 to her name to go with her 85 goals for the season, while Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson sit one and two for intercepts, deflections and gains.

Expect the Vixens to go back to the drawing board and make the most of having a full squad at their disposal, while the Thunderbirds will be hoping Lauren Frew is good to go after another ankle tweak on the weekend.

NO SECOND CHANCES IN MINOR SEMI

The Minor Semi Final matchup between the Fever and Lightning is an enticing one for many reasons.

Namely, it being a knockout final between two very intriguing sides.

The Fever had an outstanding start to the season, winning six straight before falling to the Vixens.

From there, it took another few weeks to get some consistency out on court with their remaining two losses interrupting their flow before a solid finish.

As for the Lightning, it was a bit of a different story.

The Lightning struggled with the weight of expectation early in the season, and while they always had the finals potential, at the beginning of the season it really could have gone either way for this team.

Improvements throughout the season made up the difference though, and even with three losses in their last five matches, the Lightning were able to pip the Mavericks to the finals post.

While the Fever got the last laugh in both previous matchups this season, it was a lot closer the second time round back in Round 8 with just two goals separating the sides.

The Lightning’s ability to go toe-to-toe with all three top three sides during the season is critical for their post-season chances as they look to maintain confidence under pressure.

Steph Fretwell’s form in the back-half of the season has been outstanding and could well be the make or break against the Fever.

The Fever’s defence started strong and has somehow improved in leaps and bounds as the season went on, making for an intriguing battle inside the circle.

Meanwhile, expect a huge matchup at the other end with Lightning defenders Courtney Bruce and Ash Ervin both set with the task of shutting down the formidable Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard.

Fowler-Nembhard has had another epic season, piling on a whopping 813 goals at 96% across 831 minutes.

She is near-on unstoppable, and the Lightning defence – while impressive in their own right – will be up against it this week.

Both teams are reasonably well matched on the stats sheet when it comes to defence.

Ervin, Bruce and Tara Hinchliffe have combined for 130 gains this season, only six less than the Fever’s defensive combination of Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Sunday Aryang and Fran Williams.

The two sides will also match reasonably well in wing attack, with both Liz Watson and Alice Teague-Neeld in fine form.

Watson leads the competition for goal assists (365) with Teague-Neeld keeping close behind (353), and a similar story for centre pass receives (371-294) and gains (9-6).

The Fever will need to assert dominance nice and early to ensure they claim a victory on home turf and set up a second chance, while the Lightning will want to cast away some past demons at RAC Arena to get an important win this time around.]