Thunderbirds soar to top spot

In a rematch of last year’s Grand Final, the Adelaide Thunderbirds had ex-NSW Swifts player Romelda Aiken-George on their side this team this time around. She proved to be an excellent pick and helped secure her team another win. 

She began the game with ease, showing no fear of past teammate Sarah Klau. A credit to her teammates and the movement from fellow shooter Lauren Frew, which allowed her to become so open. Frew has been a consistent force for the Thunderbirds, in her first SSN she has fit in seamlessly, alongside both Aiken-George and Lucy Austin.

After a slow start, the Swifts were able to come back and stay within reach, finishing the first quarter down by only three goals. This was The Swifts were forced to make a change defensively, which saw Klau and Maddy Turner double Aiken-George around the circle’s edge.

Offensively, the Swifts had started with the choice of two moving shooters, Helen Housby and Sophie Fawns. The Swifts were always going to rely on them once the Power Five came into play, but they weren’t as successful as usual. Fawns hit her first long ball early on, but her second attempt was blocked cleanly by Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, the same happening to Housby later. It was clear that her defensive efforts put doubt in the Swifts shooters' minds and their confidence suffered for the rest of the game.

The Swifts opted to utilise their replacement player, Uneeq Palavi in as GS. Being a holding shooter, she was able to offer the Swifts some different looks. Although she held her own, the defensive efforts of the Thunderbirds made it difficult for the Swifts to find a rhythm in their feeds. It wasn’t just the feeds into the shooters that proved difficult, even getting the ball over the transverse line. Multiple times after they were able to win the ball back, they would end up throwing it away. There seemed to be a lack of effort with their preliminary movement and they lacked the hunger for the ball - the first half saw them winning only four loose balls, compared to the Thunderbirds 12.

This was not an issue for the Thunderbirds, they presented a cohesive unit and were led by Georgie Horjus, who proved not only that she is formidable as a WA, but late in the game she slotted into the GA position.

While the Thunderbirds’ score improved throughout each quarter, it was nothing significant, which proves interesting considering their opponents are on the opposite end of the ladder. The Swifts’ scoring declined after the first quarter, it wasn’t until the fourth term that they were able to outscore the Thunderbirds. This might not have been the case if the Thunderbirds had taken any super shots themselves, as they took zero for the game.