IN an enthralling contest both Sarah Klau and Cara Koenen stood out for their respective sides with both players leaving nothing to chance and going toe-to-toe for large parts of the grand final. The Swifts had a multitude of contributors across the court with Klau a clear beneficiary of the defensive pressure, while Koenen provided a strong option under the post.

SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING: CARA KOENEN (GS)

In her first grand final performance, the young goal shooter played her part in the circle providing a viable option under the post and using her feet to cleanly work her way around the defence. Although she was starved of opportunity in the first term she worked tirelessly to get off the body of Klau and Maddy Turner. Her ability to hold space and open herself up allowed the Lightning to feed to her albeit with difficulty due to the pressure but her commitment to the drive or hold was imperative to the Lightning front end.

Koenen showcased her versatility and endurance pushing out to goal attack late in the first term using her height and aerial ability to create another option in attack. Despite the added workload out the front her accuracy did not drop with Koenen taking responsibility in the circle and backing herself. Her combination with Peace Proscovia was solid with the two rotating through the circle well and using the angles to deliver well weighted passes.

Although she tired in the latter stages of the second quarter and spent time on the bench in the third, her ability to re-enter the game with composure and accuracy was pivotal to the Lightning. With Steph Wood struggling to have an impact under the post, Koenen stood up under pressure taking the heat off her shooting counterpart. Her movement and clever footwork was on full display while she also displayer her strength in the air to reign in some difficult passes. Koenen top scored for the Lightning with 23 goals from 27 attempts at 85 per cent accuracy.

NSW SWIFTS: SARAH KLAU (GK)

The Australian Diamonds defender simply did not put a foot wrong for the entire game with the Swifts goal keeper contesting every single pass and working in overdrive to confuse the space in the goal circle. From the first whistle Klau showcased her aggressive intent to hunt the ball and deny easy access into the circle which she did. Klau worked exceptionally well in tandem with Turner with the two seamlessly rolling off one player to another covering each other with ease and picking off any cross court balls.

Klau’s defensive pressure was second to none using her lean over the shot to get inside the head of her opposition while her body positioning to collect the rebound was equally as impressive blocking Proscovia, Wood and Koenen time and time again. The goal keeper’s constant movement and ability to switch between off and on the body defence paid dividends for the Swifts defensive end picking up a whopping 10 gains, five intercepts, 10 deflections and four rebounds.

Not only did Klau provide a great defensive option her ability to get up to the transverse line and assist with transition was imperative in allowing the Swifts reset and regain composure when trying to surge forward. Her work with Katrina Rore out the front was solid with Klau relishing Rore’s extra height allowing her to go out hunting or pickup misplaced passes. Her presence forced changes for the opposition with both Proscovia and Koenen rotating through the circle due to her commanding nature in the defensive third.