ONE last chance to make the ultimate opportunity. One chance to keep your season alive.

That is what the NSW Swifts and West Coast Fever face this weekend as they take to the court in the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball Preliminary Final.

The Swifts come into this weekend’s match after a heartbreaking loss in the Major Semi Final, while the Fever come into the match off the back of a hard fought win over the Vixens.

LAST TIME THESE SIDES MET

This weekend will be the third time these sides have met in 2023.

First time around was back in April, where Sunday Aryang celebrated a milestone with the Fever’s fourth win on the trot to start the season.

The Swifts started strongly in that game but the Fever patiently worked their way into the match, capitalised on Swift errors and ultimately took the win.

Second time around, which was back in April, both sides had a bit of a different line up to their usual line ups, but after a dying second goal to the Swifts the Fever suffered a narrow loss for a second week in a row.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

As with any team that makes it this far in the season, both the Swifts and Fever have plenty of talent across the court that will look to make a huge impact in this game. They also both have plenty of leaders who have been in this situation before and will know what to do in the stressful situations that are likely to come this weekend.

Sarah Klau, Maddy Proud and Helen Housby all starred last week all starred for the Swifts last week in what was an absolute nailbiter, and their experience and level heads will prove crucial again this weekend. Housby’s partnership with Romelda Aiken-George is also one of the most vital aspects of the Swifts’ game plan, and despite not being an expected partnership before the season began, it has become a very solid partnership.

However they have one of the toughest challenges for a pair of shooters in the SSN this weekend, having Sunday Aryang and Courtney Bruce as direct opponents. Bruce in particular was on fire last week, and having Aryang as a long time defensive partner has allowed the pair to become a really strong team.

Up the other end, the Fever also have the luxury of one of the most feared shooting pairs in Jhaniele Fowler and Sasha Glasgow at their disposals. Fowler is very hard to stop at the post, while Glasgow has broken Super Shot records this season and once she is in a Super Shot shooting rhythm, she is hard to stop.