Similar margins but two wildly different scenarios unfolded as the race for the Suncorp Super Netball title thinned over an eventful weekend.
The Sunshine Coast Lightning are specialists at this time of year and emphasized their big game mettle by putting away a willing NSW Swifts outfit to earn grand final hosting rights in Brisbane on September 15.
Collingwood’s giant-killing run ended when the Magpies were trampled beneath the feet of the more determined and clinical Melbourne Vixens.
There were so many talking points. Lightning captain Laura Langman’s 202 attacking touches – three per minute – was remarkable even by her standards.
“That’s the Langman style. She loves the stuff,” her coach Noeline Taurua said.
“When we’re either down or we’re heading into grand finals or semi-finals, that’s when she shines.”
Vixens captain Kate Moloney was just as inspiring as she carved up the Magpies midcourters.
Melbourne’s Caitlin Thwaites played her best game in two years and Shimona Nelson, in a beaten team, fought to the end.
And Nat Medhurst playing after having multiple painkilling injections in her two broken ribs was granite tough.
But what did we really learn?
Just as in boxing, finals are only rarely won by a single knockout punch. It takes intensity, skill, discipline and a combination of blows to take down a powerful opponent.
Take the Vixens. They zeroed in on Collingwood’s two best players – Medhurst and Ash Brazill – and hounded them into frustration and ultimately despair.
They didn’t relent. Once the Magpies were on the ropes, Moloney, Thwaites and Tegan Philip attacked their stricken opponent until there was nothing left.
“There was no magic to it. We just had to really lift our defensive pressure all over the court and just get that movement and read it well in attack,” Vixens coach Simone McKinnis said.
Collingwood didn’t have any surprise weapons with which to fight back. No extra gear. No alternate avenues to goal.
Which was a stark contrast to the story at USC Stadium.
The NSW Swifts had the two-time defending premiers in trouble when they led by five goals two minutes into the second quarter.
In a rare lapse, Langman tossed a pass into the crowd and the Swifts surged ahead.
That was where the Lightning differed from Collingwood. When their opponent came at them, the Lightning had answers.
Langman ran harder and for longer than any player on court. She found space, and her almost flawless combination with Laura Scherian and Steph Wood produced a flurry of punches the Swifts could not defend.
That leaves the Vixens and Swifts with a sudden-death opportunity to qualify for the grand final.
Only time will tell if they can find enough in their arsenal to knock out the Lightning.
