Live stream: HART Sapphire Series finals have arrived for Jets v Titans, Cougars v Thunder
After a thrilling afternoon of semi-finals action, two teams have gone straight through to the Sapphire and Ruby Series deciders, while two sides had their dreams cut short. Watch the REPLAYS of all four semi-finals.
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The injection of shooter Larika Malagaoma was enough to inspire a resurgent Brisbane North Cougars to keep their finals hopes alive and book a preliminary final date with the Titans.
The defending premiers hit sixth gear in the third quarter to cruise home in the final quarter to a 52-42 victory.
The Cougars appeared to be off the pace for most of the first half in their clash against the Thunder, trailing their rivals by three goals at the main break.
Replay: ACU Brisbane North v Sunshine Coast Thunder (Sapphire Series)
But the sharp shooting of Malagaoma turned the game on its head with the shooter nailing 10 of 11 attempts in a thrilling third quarter to swing the game in the defending premiers’ favour.
They call the third quarter the championship quarter, and the Cougars proved exactly why.
They swing the momentum with a 16-10 run in the third, to take a three goal lead into the final term.
By that stage it was like a runaway train, and no matter what the Thunder threw in front of it, they couldn’t get it to stop.
The Cougars ploughed ahead in the final quarter to finish with a 10-goal win.
Malagaoma finished with 23 of 26 attempts in the front court.
The Cougars will clash with Gold Coast Titans in next Sunday’s Sapphire Series preliminary final. The final will go on the court at 6pm, which is preceded by the Ruby final at 4pm.
The Titans will also play the Cougars in the Ruby Series preliminary final after ending the Jets season in the first week of finals with a dominant 59-49 win.
Replay: Gold Coast Titans v TAE Aerospace Jets (Ruby Series)
The Titans fought well to stretch out to a three-goal lead at the end of the first term, despite a back-and-forth start to the clash.
But it was the third quarter where they did the damage, stretching their lead to seven goals and wrestling the momentum off their rivals ahead of the final term.
Major Semi-Finals Wraps
Fresh off her selection in the Queensland squad ahead of the Australian Netball Championships, Elsa Sandholt has sent the TAE Aerospace Jets into the Sapphire Series grand final.
The shooter was incredible for the Jets as they blew past the Gold Coast Titans in the final quarter of the major semi-final to register a 56-34 win on Sunday afternoon.
The Jets, who led from bell-to-bell at Nissan Arena, turned it on in the late stages to produce a 17-7 final term and fire a clear warning shot to the rest of the finals teams in the Sapphire Series.
Replay: TAE Aerospace Jets v Gold Coast Titans (Sapphire Series)
Sandholt was impressive over the opening half of the game, finding the net with ease before the Titans began to heap the pressure on the star shooter.
That opened the door for Abigail Miafor to step up her work on goal, driving the play through the front end and finishing with an impressive 89 per cent shooting record.
While their star shooter was in overdrive up front, it was the slick work of the Jets defence that truly made the difference on Sunday.
The Titans struggled to make in-roads throughout the game, only managing 44 attempts on goal for their 34 points.
The Titans will now back up in next week’s preliminary final for a second chance at reaching the decider.
Replay: Carina Leagues Club v ACU Brisbane North (Ruby Series)
Minor premiers Carina Leagues Club Tigers have also punched their ticket to grand final day in the Ruby Series competition, cruising past Brisbane North Cougars 61-49 in the major semi-final.
Major Semi-Final: TAE Aerospace Jets v Gold Coast Titans
The major semi-final between the top two sides in the league will kickstart the semi-finals night with a bang.
The Jets have come awfully close to a premiership before, but lost to Cougars in the 2020 grand final and have not made it past prelims since.
There is plenty at stake for Jets heach coach Paula Stuart, who has won a Sapphire Series title with the QUT Wildcats in 2019, Ruby Series gold with the Carina League Club Tigers in 2020 and was runner-up in Sapphire Series with the now disbanded QUT side in 2021 and 2022. Will 2023 be third time lucky for the coaching whiz?
Meanwhile, the opposition Titans are just as hungry to secure a grand final spot after not making the top four in 2022.
With three Titans athletes this week named in the Firebirds Futures squad, there’s no doubt the roster is looking dangerous.
The major Ruby Series semi-final will be played simultaneously between the Tigers and Cougars. It will be a rematch of the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Ruby grand finals.
Minor Semi-Final: Brisbane North Cougars v Sunshine Coast Thunder
The minor semis will take place at 6pm, with Thunder and Cougars fighting to avoid their Sapphire Series finals dream being cut short.
In previous years, Cougars have been on top of the Sapphire ladder and enter the finals series in a relativelyt rich vein of form after winning three of their past four games to finish the regular season.
One of those wins came against their semi-final rivals Sunshine Coast, and if they can repeat the dose they will take another step toward their dreams of a Sapphire Series four-peat.
Thunder are no doubt the underdogs of this story, but don’t let previous round results fool you. It’s a whole new ball game when finals roll around.
The Thunder had to fight tooth and nail to stave off a late finals bid from the Tigers, and claimed a major scalp of the Jets in the penultimate round of the season proving they have the calibre to mix with the top sides of the league.
In the Ruby Series, the Titans and Jets will fight to avoid elimination in a match that is sure to be a nailbiter.
In round seven Jets had the upper hand by 13, though round 10 was much closer with Titans only letting go by three goals. Will this week be different again?
Howthe finals work
The winner of the major semi-final (1 v 2) will go straight to the grand final on Sunday July 30th, earning a week off to prepare.
The loser of the major semi-final will play in next week’s preliminary final against the winner of the minor semi (3 v 4).
What’s at stake for our teams?
SAPPHIRE SERIES
JETS: Have made one grand final appearance in HSS history but lost to Cougars in 2020.
TITANS: Are only in their second year of HSS and did not make finals in 2022.
COUGARS: Are back to defend their title for the fourth year running, after losing their first attempt in 2019 to QUT Wildcats. This year lost their first game in over two years but are still looking strong. Elimination is on the cards as they must win to progress.
THUNDER: Have not made a grand final appearance in HSS history and have not beaten the Cougars in 2023. Elimination is on the cards as they must win to progress.
RUBY SERIES
TIGERS: Are back to defend their fourth title and second in a row. The only year they have lost in HSS Ruby history was against the Cougars in 2021.
COUGARS: Are gearing up to take their second title and are hoping to make it straight to the grand final this time. They have lost to the Tigers on the grand final stage in 2020 and 2022.
JETS: It’s been a long time since the Jets saw grand final next to their name. In 2019 they went down to the Tigers and have since failed to get past preliminary finals.
TITANS: A brand new face to the finals roster, they’re the underdogs but have to be taken seriously.
Originally published as Live stream: HART Sapphire Series finals have arrived for Jets v Titans, Cougars v Thunder
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