Giants extend winning streak, NSW Swifts end drought ahead of Super Netball opener

THE Giants have extended their pre-season winning streak and the Swifts recorded breakthrough wins in the lead-up to the Super Netball competition.

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THE Giants have extended their pre-season winning streak and the Swifts recorded breakthrough wins less than a fortnight prior to the two clubs clashing in the historic opener of the Super Netball competition.

With the new, Australian-based competition kicking off on February 18 with the NSW derby, the contenders are being sorted from the pretenders in a series of pre-season clashes.

The Giants, minus their gun shooter Susan Pratley to Diamonds duties and Serena Guthrie to England, dominated their first outing in Perth against West Coast Fever with a 57-45 win and then backed up on Sunday with a51-48 defeat of their Western Australian rivals.

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The Giants in a pre-season match with the Magpies. .

While still experimenting with line-ups, the Giants pre-season form is indicating they will be one of the teams to beat this competition.

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But it was the Swifts performance in Melbourne which raised eyebrows with the team beating both the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Melbourne Vixens in pre-season outings.

The Swifts have opted to run with a relatively young and inexperienced team for the first year of the new competition and with just one Diamond in the line-up in Paige Hadley.

Abbey McCulloch captained the Swifts to two wins on the weekend.

With Hadley currently on tour with the Diamonds, the Swifts on Sunday downed the Melbourne Vixens at home 59-48 in a match captain Abby McCulloch says was important to the club.

“It provides a big lift,’’ said McCulloch, whose side also beat the Thunderbirds 50-45 on Saturday.

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“It is quite important to get a taste of a win as well. To know what it feels like.’’

The weekend wins were the first by the Swifts this pre-season.

Swifts coach Rob Wright has identified the Simone McKinnis coached Vixens side as his tip to disrupt the favourites during the inaugural Super Netball competition.

Melbournes have their own new rivalry in netball between the Melbourne Vixens and Collingwood magpies.

Originally published as Giants extend winning streak, NSW Swifts end drought ahead of Super Netball opener