The Thunderbirds were cruelled by injuries before the season even started, with Sasha Glasgow (who returned in this match), Emily Burgess and Cat Tuivaiti all injured. That was compounded this week with promising young South Australian Charlee Hodges forced to the sideline with a concussion she collected last week.
Despite all of that, the Thunderbirds levelled the scores here with two minutes to go and effected a steal for a chance at the go-ahead goal seconds later. Intercepts from Paige Hadley and Abbey McCulloch ended their late run, though, and secured the win for the Swifts.
There was some consolation for the Thunderbirds, who claimed two bonus points for winning the third and fourth quarters – their first competition points of the season.
The two sides came into the competition as the only sides to use at least one substitution in every match to date, and the only teams to use their full roster on three occasions.
The Swifts put the Thunderbirds under the pump with their defence early, forcing early turnovers and turning that into a 7-1 advantage to open the match. The signs looked ominous for Adelaide, but they peeled off a six-goal run of their own to force their way back into the contest.
The Thunderbirds had the ball in hand in the final minute of the quarter with a chance to win their first bonus point of 2018, but the ball was turned over, the Swifts converted and it was NSW who went into the first break leading 15-14.
The Swifts began to streak clear again in the second quarter, easing out to a four-goal advantage, prompting Adelaide coach Dan Ryan to call a timeout. Sarah Klau was strong in defence with three intercepts and the Thunderbirds struggled to break down the Swifts offence, with New South Wales taking a 31-25 lead into halftime.
The Thunderbirds brought Glasgow into the third quarter for her first netball this season, going on a 9-6 run to cut the deficit to two goals.
Veteran defender Leana de Bruin was forced from the court, though, with blood streaming from her nose from a collision. Shimmin was working tirelessly at the defensive end, though, and despite some late turnovers the Thunderbirds were able to win the quarter 12-9 and win their first bonus point of the season.
It placed Adelaide in a position to push for the result, only trailing 40-37 heading into the final term – a gap they quickly slashed to just one.
The Swifts had made a raft of changes in the third quarter but made a total of eight substitutions heading into the final term as they rolled the dice to secure the win.
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Swifts
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MATCH-UP
The Numbers
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Thunderbirds
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30
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Mins. in Possession
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29
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21
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Gain
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10
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|
10
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Intercepts
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6
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21
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Deflections
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15
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80
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Goal Shooting %
|
80
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Q1: Swifts 15 v Thunderbirds 14
Q2: Swifts 16 v Thunderbirds 11
Q3: Swifts 9 v Thunderbirds 12
Q4: Swifts 11 v Thunderbirds 12
Suncorp Super Netball premiership points
Swifts 6
Thunderbirds 2
Swifts shooting statistics
Sam Wallace 30/34
Helen Housby 15/20
Sophie Garbin 6/9
Thunderbirds shooting statistics
Shimona Nelson 33/39
Abigail Latu-Meafou 12/14
Sasha Glasgow 4/8
Swifts starting seven
GS: Sam Wallace, GA: Helen Housby, WA: Paige Hadley, C: Maddy Proud, WD: Abbey McCulloch, GD: Maddy Turner, GK: Sarah Klau
Thunderbirds starting seven
GS: Shimona Nelson, GA: Abigail Latu-Meafou, WA: Chelsea Pitman, C: Kaitlyn Bryce, WD: Fiona Fowler, GD: Leana de Bruin, GK: Kate Shimmin
Nissan MVP: Sarah Klau
