West Coast Fever’s masterstroke ends Swifts’ Super Netball reign

The NSW Swifts’ reign as Super Netball premiers is over after they were knocked out of the finals 67-62 by West Coast Fever.

Courtney Bruce of the Fever celebrates with Sunday Aryang after their victory over NSW Swifts at Sunshine Coast Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

The NSW Swifts’ reign as Super Netball premiers is over after they were knocked out of the finals 67-62 by a West Coast Fever side spearheaded by their established star and a youngster who appears destined to become one.

Needing a win in the minor semi-final to keep their campaign alive, the Swifts had control of the match but failed to hold the ball or make use of their hard-won ­turnovers.

The Swifts led by nine early in the third quarter of Sunday’s clash at the University of Sunshine Coast before a coaching masterstroke from new Diamonds mentor Stacey Marinkovich turned the match.

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Marinkovich made a key change at halftime, bringing in teen defender Sunday Aryang and switching English international Stacey Francis to wing defence to help shut down Swifts captain Maddy Proud.

Despite playing just half a match, Aryang won MVP honours, making five key intercepts to turn the game in the Fever’s favour.

The West Australian team then had a glut of possession and started to play fast and direct to Jamaican international Jhaniele Fowler, who finished with 55 goals in her 100th national league match.

The teams entered the final quarter locked at 48-48 but the Fever won the key moments.

Coach Briony Akle was devastated for her team. “This really hurts,” she said. “We had control for a lot of that game and because you’ve tasted success, you’ve tasted that premiership, you just want it even more, so that just makes it hard, the pressure.”

The Swifts finished fourth on the ladder and have not shone this season, as they did in their premiership year. But Akle saw signs last week they were back to their best and that was on display for almost three quarters on Sunday. Akle said her team was in “total control”.

Sunday Aryang of the Fever after winning her first player of the match award after her team’s minor semi-final victory over the Swifts. Picture: Getty Images

The loss was particularly hard for Proud, who missed last year’s premiership push with a knee injury and was left shattered after Sunday’s result.

“I think for the whole team you can see the reaction, tears and screams, and we said we never wanted to feel like this again,” she said.

“For me, the one taste of finals I’ve had has been a loss, so that’s tough, but it just gives you motivation leading into next year.”

Marinkovich said she remained confident when her team was down by nine goals.

“It’s shown many times this season that teams can have moments and I think we needed to get the score ticking over in the two-point period and adjust a few things defensively,’’ she said.

“We knew it was going to be a big battle with the Swifts because they are so good at keeping possession and taking good shots, so you’ve got to grind it out and we knew it was going to take 60 minutes to do it.”

And Marinkovich said she had full faith in switching her defence and bringing in Aryang.

“We train like that and the way in which we’ve prepped since November has been giving people that opportunity,” Marinkovich said. “And she’s got Courtney (Bruce) at the back (as goalkeeper), so she’s well supported with that leadership.

“She’s someone that plays with instinct. If you can get the midcourt working well out the front, then these two at the back (Bruce and Aryang) will have a fly, so you back them in.”

Akle said she was proud of the sacrifices her team and every non-Queensland side had made to ensure the season went ahead.

“Adversity is pretty big and I don’t think it can be underestimated,” she said.

“I don’t say that just on behalf of the Swifts. I think every single team apart from those Queensland teams that didn’t have to move, have made a lot of sacrifices and I’m super proud of our sport that we got a comp up and running.

“To survive that, make finals and make shifts in all our lives, I’m proud of all of them and I know that we’ll suck this feeling in and do better next year.”

The Fever go on to play the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the preliminary final next Sunday. The winner will play the Melbourne Vixens in the grand final.