NSW Swifts v Queensland Firebirds ANZ championship grand final 2016: What you need to know
IT’S the biggest match of the season and the last ever of the ANZ Championship netball league. ULTIMATE GUIDE to the NSW Swifts v Queensland Firebirds decider.
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IT’S the biggest match of the season and the last ever of the ANZ Championship trans-Tasman netball league.
In a replay of the season decider from 2015, the NSW Swifts and the Queensland Firebirds will meet in the season decider on Sunday.
We take a look at how these two netball teams match-up on the court and the bench.
We even make a fearless prediction of who will win.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the ANZ Championship grand final.
NSW SWIFTS V QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS
Date: Sunday 31 July
Venue: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall
Time: 12.10pm (AEST) (Doors open: 11.00am)
FAST FACTS
#This is the fourth time this season the two sides have met in the competition.
#The Firebirds have won three of their four clashes with the Swifts this season.
#The Firebirds beat the Swifts in the 2015 grand final.
#The Firebirds are attempting to be the first team in ANZ Championship history to win back-to-back titles.
WHO HOLDS THE UPPER HAND
#The Firebirds have never been beaten by the NSW Swifts in Brisbane.
#Both teams have previously won an ANZ championship crown — the Swifts in 2008 and the Firebirds in 2015.
THE STATS THAT MATTER
#The Firebirds have never lost a final in Brisbane.
#The Swifts have scored 1011 goals this season, the highest volume of goals in any ANZ Championship team in history.
#The Swifts are the most accurate team in the league, shooting at 87.7 per cent.
Coaching Stats
#Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke has the most successful winning percentage in ANZ championship history, with a 74 per cent record.
#Swifts coach Rob Wright has the third most successful winning percentage of all time, with a 65 per cent winning rate.
#The Firebirds lead head to head with 14 wins, six losses and a draw in 21 previous meetings.
#The Firebirds advanced to the Grand Final after a come from behind 67-64 win over the Steel in Brisbane in the first semi-final.
#The Swifts qualified for the Grand Final after defeating the Magic 64-45 in Hamilton in the second semi-final.
INTERESTING TIT-BITS
#Jamaican shooter and Firebirds star Romelda Aiken will break through the 5000 career goal barrier in Sunday’s grand final.
#The Swifts are a completely different side to the one which fell by a goal to the Firebirds a year ago.
#The Swifts were the inaugural champions in 2008. Captain Kimberlee Green and Susan Pettitt are the last remaining members of this team.
#The Firebirds have scored 926 goals this season, and are 18 goals away from equalling their highest volume season of shooting (944 in 2013).
#One of the biggest changes to the Swifts since last year’s decider is the inclusion of Silver Ferns star Laura Langman.
#Firebirds player Caitlyn Nevins is attempting to win her third title on Sunday. She was in the Melbourne Vixens side that beat Queensland in the 2014 grand final and in the Firebirds line-up last year.
#Three players from the Firebirds 2011 title will be involved in Sunday’s match — captain Laura Geitz, Clare McMeniman and Romelda Aiken.
#The Firebirds have retained all but one of their starting seven from 2015
TV
The game will be broadcast live on Channel 10 (ONE in WA) and Fox Sports Australia.
STAR PLAYERS
ROMELDA AIKEN: The Jamaican shooter and long-serving member of the Firebirds finished the regular season as the second most prolific shooter in the competition with an outstanding haul of 677 goals from 769 attempts at a high 88 per cent.
SHARNI LAYTON: One of the quickest and best defenders in the game. A leader on the court who earned MVP in the Swifts semi-final against Magic on Monday.
CAITLIN THWAITES: The Swifts very own super shooter who can also score 50 plus when she needs to. Generally, however, she shares the load with former Diamond Susan Pettitt.
KIM GREEN: The centre-court marshall and former Diamonds player. Cool and composed she leads by example.
LAURA GEITZ: The Australian defender can turn a game with her circle antics and is regarded, along with Layton, as one of the best defenders in the world.
WINNING PARTNERSHIPS
The NSW Swifts boast the best shooting partnership in the league.
Unlike most of their rivals, this club shares the shooting around.
In fact the Swifts are the only team to have two shooters in the top eight overall.
Thwaites finished the regular season in third place on the shooting list with 503 goals from 564 attempts (89%). Susan Pettitt was eighth overall, having netted 380 from 434 at 87.6 per cent.
THE BENCH
The Swifts bench is young but incredibly talented. And thanks to coach Rob Wright injecting them into almost every match this year, they are also very experienced.
The Swifts started the season with four rookies with defender Maddy Turner since starting every match alongside Sharni Layton.
FEARLESS PREDICTION
We are going against the tide with this one.
While the Firebirds have been the form team in 2016 and were a far superior side to the Swifts the last time they met, we have a sneaking suspicion NSW could cause a major upset on Sunday.
So our fearless prediction is Swifts by two goals.
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