By Charlotte Knoke
A winless Melbourne Mavericks were determined to make Suncorp Super Netball history by getting their club’s first win on the board. Meanwhile, 2023 runners-up the NSW Swifts were looking to redeem themselves after a significant loss to the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Round 1.
In the end it was the NSW Swifts who solidified their first win of the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball season, defeating the Melbourne Mavericks by 11 goals, winning the game 67-56.
Both sides came out firing to start the game but the Swifts' defence, namely Sarah Klau, were clean, clinical and were able to pick up ball almost immediately.
It was a highly contested first quarter and the intensity was palpable at Ken Rosewall Arena, with the match-up between Klau and Eleanor Cardwell particularly feisty.
The Swifts quickly got out to a lead, but after a tactical timeout from the Mavericks, the visitors started to put their foot down and put pressure on their opposition. But the Swifts stayed calm, focused, and continued powering on.
During the first Power Five of the game, it was the Swifts who went for the super shots and thanks to Helen Housby were able to increase their lead and headed into the second quarter up 20-12.
Swifts co-captain Maddy Proud was clinical in the midcourt.The Mavericks made a few positional changes to start the second quarter, particularly in the attack end, to try and combat the dominance of the Swifts’ defenders.
Meanwhile, the Swifts attack line exuded pure confidence, especially when feeding into Sam Wallace-Joseph in the goal circle.
Kim Jenner started to gain some much-needed ball for the Mavericks, but the Swifts were still able to continue slotting in goals and thus extended their lead.
The injection of Sophie Fawns into the game just shy of the Power Five in quarter two changed the Swifts’ shooting end into more of a moving circle which seemed to cause some confusion for the Mavericks’ defenders.
The Mavericks were able to sink some much-needed super shots, however. the Swifts maintained their dominance in terms of the two-pointers.
The Swifts entered half-time with a hefty 14 goal lead, with the score sitting at 37-23.
The Mavericks midcourters struggled to find their shooters easily throughout most of the game.The Swifts continued their dominance into the second half, with Klau and Maddy Turner picking up plenty of intercepts and rebounds.
Respective captains Maddy Proud and Amy Parmenter had a huge clash while both contesting for the ball and Proud was spoken to by the umpires for her late challenge but no further action was taken.
The Mavericks were forced to go for the super shots during the third Power Five to try and claw back their deficit, and thanks to Cardwell and Gabby Sinclair they were able to slightly reduce the margin.
The tempo of the game seemed to accelerate but the Mavericks' attack end were struggling to navigate to the circle edge.
The Swifts maintained their lead heading into the final quarter up 48-36.
Both teams contested almost every ball during the match.Desperate to win ball back, the Mavericks contested everything in the fourth quarter.
The connection between both Housby, Wallace-Joseph and the Swifts midcourters looked as seamless and comfortable as ever and the home side were able to feed the ball into their shooters effortlessly.
Meanwhile the Mavericks were also finding Cardwell with more ease than previous quarters during the final 15 minutes of the game. However, it seemed almost too late for the Melbourne side to make much headway on the scoreboard.
The final Power Five proved crucial for the visitors and they made use of the two-point shots. Thanks to Gabby Sinclair they were able to get within 10 goals but the Swifts continued ticking away on the scoreboard, not allowing their competitors to get too close.
In the end, the NSW Swifts claimed the win by 11 goals, with the final score 67-56.
Swifts co-captain Paige Hadley was named Player of the Match and notched up 87.5 Nissan Net Points throughout the game.
