West Coast Fever out to secure finals berth in Giants crunch match

West Coast Fever midcourt dynamo Jess Anstiss says her side must eliminate its lapses and produce a consistent performance for 60 minutes in Saturday’s crunch match against the Giants.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 05: Jess Anstiss of the Fever catches the ball during the round ten Super Netball match between the Melbourne Vixens and the West Coast Fever at Nissan Arena on September 05, 2020 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

West Coast Fever midcourt dynamo Jess Anstiss says her side must eliminate its lapses and produce a consistent performance for 60 minutes in Saturday’s crunch match against the Giants.

Fever sits in third place on 30 competition points with two games left but a finals berth is still not guaranteed with the Swifts on 28 and Giants on 22.

It sets up a mouth-watering clash that could have finals implications for both teams in Cairns on Saturday afternoon, as part of Super Netball’s annual Indigenous Round.

“We’re expecting it to be a physical encounter — it always is when we come up against the Giants — but there’s a lot on the line,” Anstiss said.

The West Coast Fever, GIANTS Netball, NSW Swifts and Adelaide Thunderbirds land in Cairns ahead of their Suncorp Super Netball Indigenous Round matches at Cairns Pop Up Arena on Saturday. GIANTS' Kristiana Manu'a, Swifts' Paige Hadley, Fever's Courtney Bruce and Thunderbirds' Hannah Petty in their Indigenous Round dresses in Cairns. PICTURE: STEWART McLEAN

“If we get the win, we can secure finals but they’ll be hoping to keep their season alive as well.”

She said the team would need to be at the top of its game to lock up a finals spot in the penultimate round.

“For us, it’s about finding that consistency in our performance and making sure we put out a 60-minute performance,” Anstiss said.

“We’ve had some lapses in the last couple of games, just five minutes here and there going into breaks and not necessarily having the momentum with us, so there’s a couple of things that we want to work on there.

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“The goal is always to make finals and, now we’re in the top four, it’s looking more likely, but we’ve just got to take it one game at a time and focus on this weekend, get the win and move forward.”

Anstiss said the Indigenous Round was always a season highlight.

“It’s one of my favourite rounds,” she said. “We have a special connection with the Shooting Stars organisation back in Perth, so we really enjoy this round and it’s special to be a part of it.”

Anstiss said she was looking forward to playing the special round in Far North Queensland.

“It’s a bit of a change of scenery, but we’re ready to have some heat,” Anstiss said.

Originally published as West Coast Fever out to secure finals berth in Giants crunch match