IN the second Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) upset of the day yesterday, GIANTS Netball defeated West Coast Fever by a thrilling one-goal, 74-73 in front of home fants.

The Fever had two massive outs pre-match, with Jess Anstiss and Sasha Glasgow both missing the match due to Health and Safety protocols.

Despite those outs it was the Fever who raced out to an early lead, scoring the first three goals before the GIANTS scored their first. The GIANTS then got the next two before the Fever settled and regained their lead.

Then the GIANTS came back at the Fever and pinched the lead after six minutes had gone in the term. They then got a good run on and got their lead out to as much as four goals.

The GIANTS continued to maintain their lead for the rest of the term, but the Fever were able to bridge the gap slightly, then unfortunately for the Fever, Sophie Dwyer began to find her range from super shot range. She nailed two super shots and so at quarter time the margin was five in favour of the GIANTS.

The GIANTS continued to be the more dominant side in the opening passages of the second term, with the margin increasing to six goals. It was a trend that continued for much of the middle part of the term, with the defensive pressure from the GIANTS up high and the lead ballooning out to as much as eight goals. The Fever halved that margin but then the GIANTS steadied and brought the lead back out to five goals at the main break.

The third quarter belonged to the Fever. The Fever had the much better start to the second half, bringing the margin back to within three goals. After the GIANTS then steadied the Fever reduced the margin even further to a single goal.   Alice Teague-Neeld nailed a super shot to level the scores with about three and a half minutes to go, before Dwyer nailed one of her own to restore the lead.

The Fever won the quarter by eight goals and at the final break they held the lead by three goals. The GIANTS had erased the Fever lead within the first five minutes of the final term and it was shaping up to be a thrilling finish to the match. The GIANTS then took a two-goal lead as the Fever then called a timeout in the hope that things could reset and shift in their favour.

It remained that one to two goal margin for much of the middle part of the final term, and then as the power five heat the Fever then drew level again. They then took the lead with just under four minutes to go. Dwyer then converted yet another super shot to retake the lead for the GIANTS, but then Jhaniele Fowler drew level for the GIANTS, before the GIANTS retook the lead.

With about a minute and a half to go, the margin was one goal and things were set for an epic finish. The GIANTS then got out to a three-goal lead before Teague-Neeld nailed a super shot with under 10 second to go. Unfortunately for the Fever they ran out of time to have any more attempts to bridge the gap and the GIANTS held on in a thriller.

The respective goal attacks for both sides (Dwyer and Teague-Neeld) were on fire from super shot range throughout the match, both nailing a whopping five super shots. It was an all-round excellent performance from the entire GIANTS team, but Dwyer and Amy Parmenter were particularly impressive.

Meanwhile for the Fever, despite Fowler shooting a whopping 62 goals and Sunday Aryang and Courtney Bruce both performing well, they really missed Glasgow and Anstiss.

Both sides are away next weekend. The GIANTS are in Queensland to face the Lightning, while the Fever are in Adelaide to face the Thunderbirds.

GIANTS NETBALL 21 | 17 | 17 | 19 (74)
WEST COAST FEVER 17 | 16 | 25 | 15 (73)

STARTING SEVENS:

GIANTS Netball:

GS: Jo Harten
GA: Sophie Dwyer
WA: Maddie Hay
C: Jamie-Lee Price
WD: Amy Parmenter
GD: April Brandley
GK: Tilly McDonnell

West Coast Fever:

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Alice Teague-Neeld
WA: Emma Cosh
C: Verity Simmons
WD: Stacey Francis-Bayman
GD: Sunday Aryang
GK: Courtney Bruce