Swifts, Giants prepare for Super Netball with England matches

THE NSW Swifts and Giants will limber up for the Super Netball season with matches against an England side hoping to pull off a major netball sting at the Commonwealth Games.

Kristina Brice of the Giants takes a pass during round one of Super Netball last season.

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THE NSW Swifts and Giants will limber up for the Super Netball season with matches against an England side hoping to pull off a major netball sting at the Commonwealth Games.

Two days of pre-season matches will be played on March 17 and 18 to prepare the NSW teams and West Coast Fever for the start of Super Netball and England for their Games campaign on the Gold Coast in April.

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Australian coach Lisa Alexander considers the England Roses one of the Diamonds major threats at the Commonwealth Games along with the world No. 2 New Zealand Silver Ferns.

The Giants and Swifts in a local derby last year.

The Roses, who have finished third at three past Games, have shown significant improvement in recent years, beating New Zealand by four goals in a Quad series match played in Australia in 2017.

They are also coached by an Australian in Tracy Neville and have been drawn in Pool B at the Commonwealth Games with New Zealand, Malawi, Wales, Scotland and Uganda.

“It is very important we test ourselves against some of the best in the business ahead of Suncorp Super Netball and in the England Roses and West Coast Fever we have just that,” said new Swifts coach Briony Akle.

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“The England team will also be using this as part of their Commonwealth Games preparations so there will be no shortage of commitment and effort from the visiting teams and our players will be well and truly tested in all areas of the court.’’

Serena Guthrie, an England player, in action for the Giants in 2017.

Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald said she will use the pre-season matches to gather crucial data.

“Practice games are a vital component of your pre-season preparations as you can never fully replicate a game environment at training,’’ she said.

“They also allow you to test what you’ve been working on against different opponents as well as trial combinations across the court.’’

“That’s really important information for the coaches to take into a season — what works, what doesn’t, and what needs some finetuning.’’

MARCH 17

1:00pm GIANTS Netball v West Coast Fever

3:00pm NSW Swifts v England Roses

MARCH 18

4:30pm NSW Swifts v West Coast Fever

6:30pm GIANTS Netball v England Roses

Originally published as Swifts, Giants prepare for Super Netball with England matches