By Matt Fotia
The SSN season is a marathon, not a sprint.
And deep down all fans will tell themselves not to overreact to one win, one loss, one quarter or even one moment.
Basically, don’t ride the rollercoaster.
Thursday Takes flies in the face of that logic.
Each week you’ll find our raw, unfiltered views on your club and what the weekend’s performance means for them going forward.
Check it out below.
FEVER
Stood up to the challenge.
The Fever have taken all before them since their 0-2 opening to the season, but coach Dan Ryan would have been particularly pleased with how his side won on Friday.
Having jumped out to a six-goal quarter time lead, the Fever were hauled in by the Thunderbirds, who eventually grabbed the lead and extended it to three goals 90 seconds into the last quarter.
The Fever’s response was emphatic, winning the rest of the quarter 17-9, with four players recording a gain, as they ran out five goal winners to extend their winning streak to nine games.
This ability to stand up when momentum is against them, will hold the Fever in good stead this finals series.
FIREBIRDS
The season cannot finish quickly enough.
Sunday was a real low point for the Firebirds, who up until this point have stayed positive about their season, despite the poor win-loss record.
Two nine goal quarters against a fellow non-finalist was too much to bear.
There is still plenty to be positive about though.
The Firebirds will be eager to jump into pre-season.
Coach Kiri Wills was signed after the Firebirds had locked around 90 per cent of their squad, which meant she had to learn about her players on the fly, rather than find players who fit her preferred system. With a season under her belt, she now knows what she is working with.
On top of that, Wills now has first-hand experience in the league, having previously only watched from a far.
This off-season will be huge for the Firebirds, because even though Wills has clearly had a positive impact on the overall environment (she was rewarded with a contract extension) there is still plenty to get stuck into and this time, she won’t be working against the clock.
GIANTS
That first quarter was scary good.
61 per cent possession.
Five gains. Five rebounds.
21-10.
The GIANTS absolutely rocked the Swifts in the opening 15 minutes of the NSW Derby on Sunday, led by their future leaders in Erin O’Brien (two gains, two deflections) and Sophie Dwyer (seven centre pass receives, five goals) to stun a packed-out Ken Rosewall Arena,
They weren’t able to hang on to pull off an unlikely victory, but those 15 minutes were yet another example that things are starting to click for the GIANTS.
LIGHTNING
Mental strength is getting tested.
It must all be above the shoulders for the Lightning.
We know their best netball is good enough to threaten any side in the competition.
We know the talent on their list is strong, with international superstars and bright prospects on every line.
So, there is only one thing left to question.
The next three weeks will be a massive learning curve for both the coaching staff and the players.
Can they stay headstrong, block out the external noise and execute their skills to the best of their abilities, or will the pressure of living up to expectations become too much?
MAVERICKS
We are yet to see the real Melbourne Mavericks.
Whether it be bad luck, or bad management, we are yet to see what the Melbourne Mavericks are capable of.
And we should hold our judgements until we do.
The Mavericks have been dogged by injury.
In 2024, they fell a fair chunk of percentage short of the finals, despite having two key players miss the entire season.
In 2025, they look set to finish in the bottom two, despite a strong win against the Firebirds, and once again have had two key players miss the entire season, or close to it.
Hopefully, for all our sakes, they get a clear run at things in the near future.
SWIFTS
A pivotal win.
Momentum is the most important thing in sport.
When you’ve got it, things are great. When it’s against you, it seems impossible to stop.
Five minutes into the second quarter on Sunday, down by 12 to their cross-town rivals, the Swifts must have felt they would never get momentum back into their season.
But good teams are made of tough stuff, and this Swifts team are no exception.
Led by some of their older heads like Paige Hadley, Sarah Klau and Helen Housby, as well as the emerging Teigan O’Shannassy, the Swifts wrestled back the momentum to overcome the GIANTS and get back onto the winners list.
The Swifts needed a win to stop the rot.
In months to come, this result will look simple on paper, a comfortable win against a lower ranked side.
But those in the stadium and at the Swifts will know it was much more than that.
It was a turning point.
THUNDERBIRDS
Plenty to be positive about.
It should not have been all doom and gloom at Thunderbirds HQ this week.
While their loss to Fever meant they remained outside the top four, there was so much to like about their performance.
The Thunderbirds were down by as many as seven goals halfway through the second quarter but willed themselves back into the contest.
The side eventually took a three-goal lead in the early stages of the final term, thanks to their willingness to balance risk and reward, in particular led by Tayla Williams who finished the game with 26 feeds, 17 assists and a gain, from just 45 minutes of netball.
Yes, the Fever were able to haul them in, but the Thunderbirds showed their best netball is still more than good enough.
The Thunderbirds were haul the Fever in, but couldn't hold on.
VIXENS
Zara Walters’ performance was a great sign of maturity.
You wouldn’t have blamed Zara Walters for being a little overawed or rusty on Saturday night.
An injury to Hannah Mundy meant Walters was back into the starting seven and set to play full minutes at wing attack, after totalling just 26 minutes of game-time in the previous three weekends, all of which came at wing defence.
When you add her direct opponent Mahalia Cassidy into the equation it’s amazing to think the pressure Walters must have been feeling.
She certainly didn’t show it.
The Colac product nabbed 37 feeds, 21 assists and 17 centre pass receives to play a key role in the Vixens three goal win at UniSC Arena to help strengthen their finals credentials.
