The Adelaide Thunderbirds have made history, sealing the club’s first Super Netball grand final appearance after stealing a thrilling, extra time victory 62-64 over 2023 minor premiers the NSW Swifts.
In what was the very first extra time clash of the 2023 season, the match became a Super Shootout for the ages. English international shooters Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell went goal for goal for the full extra five minutes, during which Super Shots count for double points the entire time.
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The Swifts were in familiar territory having lost to the Thunderbirds just last week, which arrested an impressive nine-round winning streak through the regular season.
This week, the Swifts look dominant and led for almost the entire 60 minutes, but again let victory slip away. Not even the upgrade to a bigger stadium in Qudos Bank Arena and a 9,000-strong home crowd could boost them into the fast-tracked finals spot two weeks away.
Finals jitters plague Swifts
You could hear a pin drop among the 9,000-strong Sydney crowd as nervous jitters plagued both teams in the first quarter.
The Swifts scored first in the opening minute, but impermeable defence ground the match into low-scoring arm wrestle, with the Thunderbirds taking almost three minutes to return fire and shoot a goal.
Every time the Swifts pulled away in points, the Thunderbirds reined the difference in, taking the lead by a single goal with three minutes to go.
With 30 seconds to go, Swifts shooter Romelda Aiken-George scored a Super Shot and looked to have the game tied up by a point – but Thunderbirds shooter Lucy Austin managed to sink a goal on the buzzer and sent the match to extra time.
Austin stood up for the Adelaide side, scoring 13 from 14 goal attempts and five from six Super Shot attempts in her time on court. She proved the difference in extra time as the Thunderbirds claimed a two-point victory.
Housby back in the house
When Swifts shooter Helen Housby took the first Super Shot and copped an AFL-style shoulder bump from Ninkivell her way back to the centre circle, the crowd roared to its feet and knew a physical contest was coming.
Housby was shut out of the game last week and spent time on the bench for it. But scoring in the first minute was a warning shot of her return to strong form. She followed with a vengeful onslaught on the Thunderbirds defending pair – who have been lauded as the best in the competition.
The dual springboards of Jamaican international players Wilson and Sterling went unheeded as Housby drained eight from 10 Super Shot attempts, and 15 from 18 goals.
History made
The Thunderbirds’ victory ends a decade-long finals drought since Adelaide’s last premiership trophy, in the former ANZ Championship in 2013.
The club knows what it’s like to lose, having suffered a humiliating wipeout and losing all 14 games in the 2018 season. That came after 13 losses the prior season, recording 27 defeats in a row – 531 days without a win in a national league match – the worst of any top-tier professional Adelaide sporting side.
Saturday’s win earns the team a rest week and a place in the grand final to be played in Melbourne on July 8.
The Swifts have a second chance to meet the Thunderbirds at the big dance, when next week they face the winner of Sunday’s 2022 Grand Final rematch between West Coast fever and defending premiers the Melbourne Vixens.
