By Phina Newton
The last game of Round 9 was set to be an interesting one, the Adelaide Thunderbirds were expected to win, despite losing to the GIANTS in their previous contest.
It was a cracking start to the game by the Thunderbirds, making the most of their home ground advantage, and their first ten minutes were clinical.
They had a 100 per cent centre pass to goal rate, their movement of the ball up the floor was disciplined, and multiple leads were made that resulted in easy scores. Romelda Aiken-George鈥檚 strength was evident over Casey Kopua, and Lauren Frew was able to assist with ease.
Hannah Petty feeds the goalers.It was the Power Five where the GIANTS finally found their feet. Down by five, heading into it, Jo Harten and Sophie Dwyer wasted no time; by the end of the quarter, it was an even game.
Unable to sink a single super shot, Frew was understandably feeling the pressure. The GIANTS made the most of this and were able to get in the heads of the Thunderbird shooters, while showing no signs of slowing down on the offensive end.
Dwyer looked particularly confident, her team with a four-goal lead when the Thunderbirds called a timeout.
Kayla Graham came in for Frew as GA, while Sanmarie Visser took over from Matilda Garret in GD. Both had an immediate impact, causing concern for the GIANTS, who called their own timeout.
After starting on the bench, Matisse Letherbarrow subbed on for Dwyer as GS and Harten moved to GA.
Neither Frew nor Graham was able to land a super shot, the Thunderbirds going 0/10 in the first half. This was a problem the GIANTS weren鈥檛 having, Harten and Letherbarrow continuing to sink super shots and creating a four-goal lead at the main break.
In what is known as the 'championship quarter', the Thunderbirds showed some fight, their defensive intensity lifted, led by Latanya Wilson, who had multiple deflections and intercepts and was able to turn momentum around.
Georgie Horjus was moved into GA, Graham into WA. Horjus hit her first super shot attempt, the only made super shot for the Thunderbirds so far in the game.
Georgie Horjus steps up for a super shot.It didn鈥檛 take long for the GIANTS to put her off, however, their height making it a daunting task for Horjus, the Thunderbirds primarily settling for the one through Aiken-George.
From being down four at the break, they were able to turn it around, heading into the final quarter up by three goals.
The fourth quarter was set to be a thriller, neither team willing to give up; there was no margin for error.
The Thunderbirds' offence was beginning to slow down, their confidence dwindling.
What the game came down to was super shots, and considering the Thunderbirds had only shot 1/13 heading into the fourth, things weren鈥檛 looking in their favour.
While Horjus was able to sink her second, a costly turnover out of a timeout meant the GIANTS were able to use the clock, and it was too little, too late for the Thunderbirds, going down by three.
While the GIANTS remain at the bottom of the ladder, their win pushes the Thunderbirds out of the top four.
