Madeline Irwin
The Adelaide Thunderbirds have survived a fright from the GIANTS in Adelaide, winning 56 to 54 to keep their unblemished start to the season in tact.
Coming into the encounter, the Thunderbirds were the favourites, undefeated with the best winning record the club has had in 20 years. However, it was the winless GIANTS that got the hot start in the first half in front of a stunned crowd.
The GIANTS brought a lot of confidence into the game, having beaten the Thunderbirds on both occasions last season.
With Kiwi defender Jane Watson ruled out of the clash through injury, the GIANTS looked like they would lack experience but the lack of expectation on them looked to free them up as they put the clamps on the home team.
Defence was the key for the GIANTS, Amy Sligar was successful in keeping Horjus quiet which stopped the ball coming into the circle easily and Jodi-Ann Ward and Erin O’Brien were crucial with Elmeré van der Berg lacking confidence with the additional physicality they delivered.
As a result of the pressure she was under by the opposing defence, Van der Berg was unusually quiet, missing three shots in the first quarter alone.
Down the other end, the pairing of Sophie Dwyer and Matisse Letherbarrow was a winner, keeping Lucy Austin on the bench. They were not overawed by Jamaican defenders Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson.
The GIANTS shooters were able to capitalise on their centre passes, which became their avenue to goal. In contrast, the Thunderbirds were unable to convert their centre passes, operating with just a 64 per cent centre pass to goal conversion during the second quarter.
Whitney Souness, Sligar and Casey Adamson were important in their team shutting down Kate Heffernan, Horjus and Tayla Williams in the first half particularly.
The Thunderbirds came into the final quarter three goals behind but it was their co-captain Georgie Horjus who sealed victory with three Suncorp Super Shots.
Horjus was put into the attacking circle with great effect, adding 10 goals as well as her composure. She paired with van der Berg for a great last quarter surge to seal the comeback win.
In their charge to get back into the match, Latanya Wilson and Williams were equally as important. Wilson added two intercepts in the second half which cut the margin down on one occasion, while Williams held down wing attack allowing Horjus to swing into goal attack.
The contest was a game of two halves, with GIANTS head coach Nerida Stewart using an unchanged line-up to half-time, whereas Tania Obst used her bench to its fullest.
Post-game, Obst was pleased with the ability for her side to be versatile and grind out the win.
"That's the beauty of our team, sometimes you can throw the bibs around but we know what we've learnt over time with our team is players can play different roles against different opposition," she said.
"I feel like we've got and we're building [that], especially with some of our younger players, they're building their skillsets to come in and either bring impact into the game or start a game or re-enter a game.
"Our diversity to be able to play Tayla [Williams] through what is looking at the attacking court roles for now, swinging Georgie [Horjus] across, obviously being able to manoeuvre that defence end a little bit certainly is a luxury that we have but we want to make sure we are doing that with purpose and there's a reason why we are changing when we need to."
The Thunderbirds will travel to play the undefeated Vixens next Saturday night, while the GIANTS host the Sunshine Coast Lightning on Sunday afternoon.
