Who will survive?

By Stephanie Smarrelli
 

And then there were four. 

It’s been a wild ride for all four teams but over the next few weeks the ride will finally come to an end.  

But for one team the rollercoaster ends Sunday afternoon while another will put one hand on the premiership trophy.  
 

WHO GETS THE GOLDEN TICKET? 

They say winning a Preliminary Final is harder than winning a Grand Final. 
 
And no team knows that better than Fever. 

The last two seasons they’ve lost Preliminary Finals in heartbreaking fashion but this year they’ve given themselves the best possible chance to avoid their ultimate nemesis. 

Everything hinges on this weekend’s Major Semi Final. 

They’ve won the right to host it, and should they win, they’ll skip the match that's haunted them and get their shot at premiership glory. 
 
But they’ve got the Swifts standing in their way. 

The Swifts started the season undefeated and were ladder leaders for most of the season, but have only won two out of their last six matches. 

Not the red-hot form you want to take into finals. 

They did it tough last weekend going into extra time against the Firebirds, but the high stakes win, and pressure cooker situation gave them a taste of what finals will be like. 

On the other hand, Fever haven’t lost a match since Round 2, claiming the minor premiership and winning comfortably against the Vixens last weekend. 

The last time the two sides met Fever came out of the blocks firing with a 22-goal quarter putting them in good stead to win by 11. 

They controlled the match only losing the third term to the Swifts who were unable to inflict damage on the scoreboard despite eight Super Shots from Helen Housby. 

The Swifts will do everything in their power to ensure they don’t start on the back foot again. 

Two of the biggest challenges they’ll face will be breaking down the Fever attack and remaining composed in their own attack end. 

In Round 9, Fever’s Kadie-Ann Dehaney was enormous, her footwork confused the space in the goal circle for the Swifts feeders and her pressure on Grace Nweke had the superstar looking rattled.  

The Swifts struggled to convert against Fever's defensive wall but it’s no doubt an area they’ve studied since. 

Fever will be ignited by their home crowd when the going gets tough setting up a daunting task for the Swifts. 

But the NSW side will be quietly confident having defeated Fever at the start of the season. 

Yes, it was a Fever outfit missing linchpin Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard at the time, but they’ll need to believe in themselves when they step into enemy territory otherwise, they may as well get on the plane home before the match even begins.

While the Swifts have struggled to find form in recent weeks, they've been playing around with their line up searching for the perfect combinations against different teams. 

The biggest question is how will they line up in the midcourt?  
 
Co-captain Paige Hadley missed last week’s clash due to an injury, but Verity Simmons stepped up to the challenge. 

Supported by Allie Smith, Grace Whyte, Sharni Lambden and recent debutant Freddie Schneideman.  

The Swifts have spent much of the season working to find their best midcourt combination. 

Seven of their general play turnovers came from the midcourt the last time they faced Fever so Briony Akle and co will hope the selected combination fires smoothly this weekend.  

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone can win a match on any given day, and the Swifts will go in the underdogs but that means they’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose. 

Fever on the other hand have a lot at stake. 

They’re being hunted and know a loss will put them into the dreaded Prelim they’ve done everything they can all season to avoid. 

During finals it’s the teams who handle the pressure, adjust quickly and keep pushing that come out on top. 

And this weekend we’ll see what the top two are really made of.  
 

MAKE OR BREAK 

It’s a battle netball fans have been treated to time and time again in recent seasons. 

Last year’s Grand Finalists go head-to-head in this weekend’s Minor Semi Final to stay in the race for the premiership.  

The Thunderbirds are aiming to do what no team has done before and win three SSN premierships in a row. 

While the Vixens are chasing their second, redemption for last year’s loss and a fairytale ending for head coach Simone McKinnis.  

It’s do-or-die for the two teams, only one can move onto next week’s Preliminary Final to keep their dreams alive. 

The Thunderbirds have a massive advantage heading into the clash with the game to be played at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. 

The Vixens might need to look for some holy water to expel their demons from the arena before the clash. 

The last five times the Vixens have met the Thunderbirds in Adelaide they’ve lost, struggling to find the answer to defeating the home side.  

But when they last met in Round 12 it was in Vixens territory, the home side had the opportunity to win the match, but a few inaccurate shots proved costly. 

The closeness of their last meeting will give the Vixens the fuel they need to win but they’ll have to overcome the mental challenge of returning to Adelaide.  

The defensive partnership of Latanya Wilson and Matilda Garrett will be key for the Thunderbirds this weekend. 

The Vixens attack end know how to move the ball swiftly between each other, but they also are prone to turnovers.  

Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin make up two of the top three for turnovers in the league despite their silky shooting skills and could provide Wilson and Garrett with plenty of opportunities to steal the ball back. 

The Romelda Aiken George and Lauren Frew combination in the TBirds attack has been humming plus the flexibility to move Georgie Horjus into the shooting mix continues to pay dividends.  

And in the midcourt, it doesn’t get more tantalising than Kate Moloney vs Hannah Petty. 

The two captains will put their body on the line to win this week’s clash, expect them to both be up and about, chasing down every ball and celebrating every little win on court to keep their team’s heads in the game.  

Will the Thunderbirds threepeat dream live on or will the Vixens get a step closer to their first premiership since 2020?