Drought-breaking or legacy-making: What Super Netball title means to Thunderbirds, Swifts

Can the NSW Swifts create history or will the Thunderbirds start a legacy of their own? Hear from both captains as the grand final draws closer.

One team is on the verge of a history-making legacy, the other a drought-breaking victory that could burst the damn wall and start something special.

Whether it’s the NSW Swifts winning their eighth national league title and becoming the first Super Netball club to win three championships, or the Adelaide Thunderbirds snaring their first grand final in a decade, both sides can honestly spruik the cheesy line ‘we’re just concentrating on ourselves’.

The coaches will develop a match plan that concentrates on nullifying each team’s strengths: the Thunderbirds’ outstanding defensive end and the brilliant shooting, leadership and fearless competitiveness of Eleanor Cardwell against the nous of Swifts veteran shooter Romelda Aiken, big match poise of defender Sarah Klau and calm of midcourt magicians Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley.

But beyond those plans, both the Swifts’ Briony Akle and Thunderbirds’ Tania Obst will be imploring their teams to concentrate on themselves.

Maddy Proud of the Swifts and Hannah Petty of the Thunderbirds will lead their sides into battle in the grand final. Picture: Getty Images

It’s a message their captains Proud and Hannah Petty reiterated at a media conference on grand final eve, accompanying news that the season decider was a sellout.

“We know that we need to stick to our business and do what we want to do, we’ve been gelling well together, so we want to keep that rolling and play a bit of our history as well,” Petty said.

It’s perhaps fitting that the match will be held at a neutral venue between Sydney and Adelaide, with hardly a hair splitting the two sides all season.

From the controversial 25-25 draw in the abandoned match in Round 2, to the overtime thriller in the major semi-final, almost nothing has separated the pair all year and the captains are expecting a similarly close contest on Saturday night.

“The games that we played against each other even for the past few years, I think have always been so exciting,” Proud said.

“We match up really well against each other all the way down the court and I think that every game has been up and down and it’s always fought to the death ... especially this season, they’ve all been really exciting.”

Petty said she was more concerned with making sure the Thunderbirds brought the best out of themselves in the moment, something she believed they would be able to do despite the long break between finals drinks.

“We haven’t played a lot of finals in our team, that experience is probably little but at the same time, I think that’s a positive,” she said.

“We go in feeling very excited. We don’t know what to expect, so that could be a really good thing and knowing that we can run over the top team during the last quarter is a great factor. “We never give up. And that’s something that I think will be key in this game.”

Don’t let go! Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud will tustle for the trophy on Saturday. Picture: Getty Images

Proud too is confident of her side’s abilities as they bid to become the most successful franchise in the Super Netball era.

It’s about connection on court and it’s what Proud believes has helped the Swifts conquer so many close games this season.

“It’s that real inner belief and that’s where knowing each other like the back of your hand comes into play,” she said.

“That’s when that experience and those type of games does come into play. Hopefully we don’t have to deal with that (on Saturday) but if we do, we know that we’ll have the right tools in place.”

Of course, once the first centre pass is made, it’s all about what happens on court.

Whether that’s Aiken George’s ability to withstand the pressure of Jamaican teammates Sterling and Latanya Wilson, or whether Klau and Maddy Turner can nullify Cardwell at the other end of the court, all the external noise goes out the window in front of 10,000 fans at John Cain Arena.

While it’s being held in a neutral venue, both teams will have great support.

The Thunderbirds’ member allocation sold out in just half an hour after they made the grand final, while the Swifts also have plenty of travelling fans.

Member allocations and general public ticketing areas will be full of the Thunderbirds pink and the Swifts red, while the sellout shows that despite initial frustration, netball fans have embraced the concept of the neutral grand final venue.

A sellout crowd will watch the title decider. Picture: Getty Images

In a season on the verge of breaking all scoring records, the impact of the super short can’t be overlooked however.

The Swifts rode into the season decider on the back of an incredible comeback in the final five minutes in their preliminary final against West Coast Fever, with even Proud conceding it was a match they were unlikely to win.

“We really had no right to win in those dying minutes but we found a way, so we’ve been able to see both ends of the spectrum and I’m just hoping that we don’t have to go down to the wire - no extra time would be nice but - but we’re really excited and feeling really prepared.”

Sophie Fawns was the hero that day - just a week after being schooled by Sterling - but Helen Housby has led the league from two-point range and both the Swifts and the Thunderbirds will use the shot as an attacking method rather than simply a tool to catch up if behind.

It’s something that heaps pressure on the shoulders of goalers like Housby and Cardwell but these are moments the pair lives for.

Both want the ball in their hands at the pivotal moment. And the game could come down to a single shot from either one.

Originally published as Drought-breaking or legacy-making: What Super Netball title means to Thunderbirds, Swifts