Thunderbirds claim bragging rights in Grand Final rematch

By Charlotte Knoke

Both sides brought their all and it was an extremely close match throughout the first half, but the Adelaide Thunderbirds dominated the match-winning third quarter. The Thunderbirds ultimately ended up on top, defeating the NSW Swifts by an enormous 25 goals in the highly-anticipated grand final rematch from 2023.

The start of the game was every bit as exciting as expected, with both teams coming out firing.

An early turnover for the Adelaide Thunderbirds gave the NSW Swifts the opportunity to convert and the visitors got out to an early lead.

Sophie Fawns was given the start out at goal attack for the Swifts and her radar was accurate from the get-go.

The defence from the visitors was stellar and the Thunderbirds struggled to get the ball down to their shooters.

The Swifts’ moving circle seemed to cause some confusion for the Thunderbirds, who were likely anticipating a more traditional holding goal shooter in Samantha Wallace-Joseph.

A tip from Matilda Garrett was crucial for the Thunderbirds and the team in pink finally started to gain some momentum as a result.

There was no love lost between Romelda Aiken-George and Sarah Klau, with the former a Swift last season. Klau knows Aiken-George’s playing style well and the defender put the pressure on.

As expected, the Swifts attacked the supershot immediately when the first Power Five period began. The visitors are one of the best in the competition at landing the two-point shots and they made their intentions to go for them clear early.

In the last minute of the quarter, Lauren Frew sank a supershot of her own for the Thunderbirds and got them within one goal.

The Swifts had a strong start to the match but the Thunderbirds made a comeback right at the end of the first quarter. The Swifts entered the second quarter up by just one goal, 13-12.

To start the second period, Klau picked up a screamer of an intercept and the Swifts capitalised, getting the ball down to their shooters with ease.

The scoreboard remained tight, but some errors from the Swifts swung the score in favour of the Thunderbirds.

The home side switched up their midcourt, bringing on the experience of Laura Scherian in wing attack, and moving Georgie Horjus to goal attack.

Meanwhile, the Swifts also made some changes of their own in defence, with Teigan O’Shannessy entering the court in goalkeeper, moving Klau out to goal defence and Maddy Turner to wing defence.

These changes seemed to be effective for the Thunderbirds, as they were able to extend their lead even further.

The Swifts once again attacked the supershot during the second Power Five period, and despite missing a few they were still able to reduce their deficit slightly.

The Thunderbirds held onto their lead and entered half time up 23-20.

Samantha Wallace-Joseph finally entered the court for the Swifts to start the third quarter which meant Helen Housby moved back into her preferred position of goal attack.

Both teams struggled to settle into the second half and each side made some uncharacteristic errors.

The Thunderbirds’ attackers were strong in defence too, and picked up some ball for their side.

Shamera Sterling-Humphrey made her presence known and picked up a flying intercept, and after a few goals in quick succession Adelaide were able to extend their lead out by seven goals - the furthest of the match so far.

Due to the deficit, it was crucial for the Swifts to go for the two-pointers during the third Power Five period, but Sterling-Humphrey and Garrett did everything they could to prohibit the visitors from scoring supershots.

Sophie Fawns reentered the court in place of Wallace-Joseph and her radar was still on, but she just wasn’t given enough ball to make a difference on the scoreboard.

The Thunderbirds’ momentum continued and they just kept extending their lead.

At the end of the third quarter the home side were up by a whopping 13 goals, 41-28.

Due to the huge deficit, it was crucial for the Swifts to come out firing in the fourth quarter - and they did. But another intercept from Sterling-Humphrey prevented them from scoring.

The connection between Scherian and Aiken-George was extremely strong for the home side, and the midcourter delivered a pin-point accurate pass into the circle which they capitalised on.

The shooting accuracy for the Swifts was a big downfall for the side, and as a result they gave up possession quite frequently.

The Thunderbirds seemed to effortlessly continue ticking over the scoreboard and extending their lead thanks to a full-team effort.

Turner came through with an easy intercept but Wallace-Joseph was unable to convert and the Thunderbirds regained possession.

Allie Smith moved into centre for the Swifts which gave the visitors a more defensive approach to the midcourt, but the change didn’t make a difference to the scoreboard.

Two back-to-back supershots from Lucy Austin put the nail in the coffin and the T’birds’ lead continued to grow.

In the end the Adelaide Thunderbirds won the game 58-33. Winning by a huge 25 goals, the home side claimed bragging rights in the grand final rematch.

Latanya Wilson was named Player of the Match in her 50th national league game, and she notched up 118.5 Nissan Net Points thanks to four intercepts, seven deflections and nine pick-ups.