THE penultimate weekend in the Suncorp Super Netball regular season is upon us, and in the midst of much of the country enjoying a long weekend, this round is nice and spread out.

The top four may also already be set, but the order of that finals crop is still to be determined, meaning the regular season storylines are truly far from complete.

Round 13 begins with a single game tomorrow in Adelaide, as the Thunderbirds host the Lightning.

Before last weekend, this match on paper would have looked very different. However, Adelaide is now coming into this match off a poor performance last week while the Lightning pushed the reigning premiers. Last time these two sides met, it was a comfortable win to the Thunderbirds.

This match sees the Diamonds attacking end of Steph Wood and Cara Koenen taking on the Jamaican Sunshine Girls’ defensive end of Latanya Wilson and Shamera Sterling, which is sure to be an entertaining battle.

Moving on to Sunday, and it begins in Perth with the Fever hosting the GIANTS.

These two sides have had some tight battles over the last 18 months, and with the GIANTS no longer in the finals race, they have absolutely nothing to lose for the rest of the season.

In saying that, GIANTS defenders Lauren Moore, Matilda McDonell and April Brandley will sure have their hands full this week trying to keep the very much in form Jhaniele Fowler and Sasha Glasgow quiet.

Although, that may not even be the most interesting battle on court, with Jamie-Lee Price and Verity Simmons also sure to provide a hard fought contest.

The second clash on Sunday is in Queensland, with the Swifts hitting the road again to take on the Firebirds.

The Firebirds are in a good run of form at the moment but they face a huge challenge in combating the red hot Swifts.

However, last time these two sides met the margin was only three goals, so there is a chance the same could happen again this week.

Ruby Bakewell-Doran and Remi Kamo have really grown as a defensive partnership this year but face one of their toughest challenges this weekend in Romelda Aiken-George and Helen Housby.

Moving onto Monday, and the final game of the round will be historic, tense and emotional. With uncertainty surrounding where the eighth team will be next year, this will perhaps be the last ever Melbourne Derby. It will certainly be the last Derby between the Vixens and Magpies, in any case.

With enough emotion surrounding the game as it is, no one will be hoping for a repeat of the centre pass controversy that engulfed the end of the last game these two sides played.

The defensive trio of Ash Brazill, Geva Mentor and Jodi-Ann Ward really stood tall for Collingwood last week and will be a tough challenge for Mwai Kumwenda, Kiera Austin and Liz Watson this week.

Suncorp Super Netball Round 13 Fixture (All times local)

Adelaide Thunderbirds vs Sunshine Coast Lightning – Saturday at 6:30pm – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
West Coast Fever vs GIANTS Netball – Sunday at 12pm – RAC Arena
Queensland Firebirds vs NSW Swifts – Sunday at 4pm – Nissan Arena
Melbourne Vixens vs Collingwood Magpies – Monday at 1pm – John Cain Arena