The Fever held strong early, going goal-for-goal for much of the first quarter, feeding the ball to their pillar of strength in the goal circle, Jhaniele Fowler, who has been named the Nissan Net Points Team of the Week goal shooter for the first two rounds of the season.
It took only 13-minutes for Fowler to score her 1000th Suncorp Super Netball goal, only the 6th athlete to do so, and with one less season under her belt than most goalers in the league after only joining the Fever at the beginning of the 2018 season.
It was the Fever who were able get a handle on the first quarter, rattling a normally settled Swifts to take a five-goal lead into the first break, 19 to 14.
The Swifts changed up their midcourt during the quarter time break, switching captain Maddy Proud from centre to wing attack, a direct swap with Paige Hadley.
The position shuffle gave the Swifts a boost, with more defensive pressure applied right across the court, forcing some early Fever errors and breaking the momentum that they had built in the first quarter.
Swifts’ goal shooter Sam Wallace continued her accuracy at the post, an effort that earned her the Nissan Player of the Match accolade. She scored 32 from 34 (94%) in the first half and helped the Swifts come back to win the second quarter, bringing the scores to level at the main break – 37 apiece.
The entire third quarter was fiercely contested with the momentum shifting back and forth. The Swifts’ midcourt applied incredible defensive pressure, chased down every loose ball and capitalised well when the ball made it into their attacking third.
The Fever debuted 18-year-old up-and-comer Sunday Aryang who was brought into the team as the replacement for team captain Courtney Bruce, who is currently sidelined indefinitely with an elbow injury.
It was a tough ask for Aryang, who came on into goal keeper for Olivia Lewis, to restrain a smooth-moving Swifts goal circle in Helen Housby and Sam Wallace. Housby and Wallace shot 20 between them for the quarter and took the Swifts out to a six-goal lead at the final break, 57 to 51.
Swifts’ goal keeper Sarah Klau continued her great 2019 season form, positioning herself well on an almost unstoppable Fowler and taking several key intercepts throughout the last half.
The final quarter saw the Swifts take a stranglehold on the match, with the Fever struggling to stifle an exceptional Swifts goal circle which eventually took the Swifts to a record 80 goals for the match.
Score breakdown
Q1: Swifts 15 v Fever 19
Q2: Swifts 22 v Fever 18
Q3: Swifts 20 v Fever 14
Q4: Swifts 23 v Fever 15
Suncorp Super Netball Premiership Points
Swifts – 7
Fever – 1
Nissan Player of the Match – Sam Wallace
Swifts shooting statistics
Sam Wallace – 62/66 (94%)
Helen Housby – 18/18 (100%)
Fever shooting statistics
Jhaniele Fowler – 48/50 (96%)
Kaylia Stanton – 18/23 (78%)
Swifts starting seven: GS – Sam Wallace, GA – Helen Housby, WA – Paige Hadley, C – Maddy Proud, WD – Kate Eddy, GD – Maddy Turner, GK – Sarah Klau
Fever starting seven: GS – Jhaniele Fowler, GA – Kaylia Stanton, WA – Ingrid Colyer, C – Verity Charles, WD – Jess Anstiss, GD – Stacey Francis, GK – Olivia Lewis
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