THE Lightning put the minor premiership curse to bed, running out 10-goal victors against the NSW Swifts (58-48) in the first semi-final. It was neck and neck early, with both sides contesting hard before the Sunshine Coast pulled away, exploiting the Swifts’ vulnerabilities at every turn.

Lightning centre, Laura Langman set the tone within the first 30 seconds of the game with an impressive intercept off the centre pass and propelling the ball down the court. The Swifts quickly answered steadying the ship across the court and working well to reduce easy access into the circle for their opposition. Both teams were up and about going goal for goal for most the quarter and proving accuracy was no issue only missing two goals collectively. Upon returning from injury, Helen Housby showcased her dominance under the post slotting seven goals straight while also displaying her play making ability delivering the ball into goal shooter Sam Wallace with ease. Wing attack Natalie Haythornthwaite showed her experience and class carving up the attacking third with her strength, vision and second phase work notching up six goal assists for the term. With the Swifts gaining control Phumza Maweni stood up in defence with the goal keeper posing a dominant force getting hands to ball and using her aerial ability to pick up three gains and to intercepts. But with the clock counting down Housby once again delivered nailing her seventh goal to hand her side a one goal lead heading into the quarter time break.

Only down by one goal Sunshine Coast started with the centre pass but failed to capitalise giving the Swifts an opportunity to score consecutive goals. Wallace lifted her intensity in attack using her leap to reign in ball while piling on four goals straight before the Lightning wrestled back some momentum thanks to Cara Koenen. The young goal shooter put on a show in the goal circle standing strong and demanding the ball under the post nailing 10 goals from 11 attempts while partner-in-crime, Steph Wood pulled out all the tricks of the trade to create space and feed the ball in with ease. Wood used her dynamic movement, silky footwork and quick hands to work the angles and re-offer both in the circle and on the circle edge. With Housby still returning from injury and the Lightning starting to get on top defensively, Sophie Garbin made her way onto the court late in the quarter. Garbin had an immediate impact going to post and offering a good link through the midcourt to transition the ball into the goal circle. Despite the changes the Lightning suppressed the Swifts to 11 goals in the term while adding on 14 goals themselves establishing a two goal lead at the main break.

The third quarter or premiership quarter well and truly came to fruition with the Lightning running rampant across each third. Goal defence Karla Pretorius came to life denying the Swifts any movement in the attacking third and applying a mountain load of pressure. Pretorius contested every single pass and showcased her ability to read the play picking up two intercepts, two gains and one deflection for the term. Her work with Maweni caused headaches for the Swifts forcing Wallace to the bench after a relatively shaky performance under the post. With a five goal Lightning spree midway through the quarter the Swifts tinkered with the line-up bringing on Tayla Fraser and Sophie Halpin pushing Paige Hadley and Maddy Turner to the bench. Hadley struggled throughout the quarter to keep up with Langman who was putting on a show both offensively and defensively credit to her high endurance and netball know how. The changes did not stop there for the Swifts with Katrina Rore moving into goal defence in hope to reduce the Lightning’s attacking forays. But it was not enough with the Sunshine Coast adding 18 goals to their tally while keeping the Swifts to a mere 10 goals.

With one quarter left to play the Lightning left nothing to chance maintaining their intensity and running hard to shut down the Swifts options in attack. Peace Proscovia (six from seven) entered the game replacing Koenen at the post and offered a solid option under the ring with her strength and aerial skill on full display. Up the other end, Garbin made her presence felt in the goal finding her rhythm straight away only missing one goal for the quarter. Defensively Sarah Klau stepped up albeit a little too late picking up three gains, two intercepts and two deflections. Each Swift shooter nailed 16 goals apiece with Garbin and Housby notching up 16 from 18 at 89 per cent, while Wallace was slightly less accurate with 16 from 19 at 84 per cent. For the Lightning, Koenen was the go to girl slotting 30 goals from 32 attempts at 84 per cent followed by Wood with 22 from 29 at 76 per cent. The win secured the Lightning a home grand final and a shot at their third premiership.

STARTING LINE-UPS:

Sunshine Coast Lightning:

GS | Cara Koenen
GA | Steph Wood
WA | Laura Scherian
C | Laura Langman
WD | Maddy McAuliffe
GD | Karla Pretorius
GK | Phumza Maweni

NSW Swifts:

GS | Sam Wallace
GA | Helen Housby
WA | Natalie Haythornthwaite
C | Paige Hadley
WD | Katrina Rore
GD | Maddy Turner
GK | Sarah Klau