THE top four battle between West Coast Fever and NSW Swifts was always going to be an exciting one with the Swifts getting the “W”, 66-65. Relocating to Melbourne due to the COVID-19 restrictions the game was played with no crowd but that did not mean there was not plenty of noise with both sides barking orders given the high stakes.

It did not take long for the West Coast Fever to hit the scoreboard with Jhaniele Fowler opening her account. A goal-for-goal rhythm ensued over the first couple of minutes before the Swifts broke free courtesy of Lauren Moore who came through for a deflection which landed in the hands of Sam Wallace, who in turn made the Fever pay with a goal. The Swifts opened up a handy two-goal lead and continued to find easy avenues to post with Wallace holding strong and keeping Courtney Bruce at bay. However it did not take long for Bruce to insert herself in the action coming out flying for an intercept and propelling the ball down the court to give her side a chance to level scores, and that they did.

The wheels started to turn for the Fever as they hit the front credit to some strong positioning from Fowler under the post. It was not easy work for either side as they worked in overdrive to bring the ball down the court and find space under the post. The Fever managed to string together a couple of goals and within the blink of an eye they skipped out to a five-goal lead.

The second half was just as action-packed with the Fever showcasing their speed down the court to transition with relative ease. Bruce was out hunting and causing a ruckus while Sunday Aryang was allowing Helen Housby to run free. The Fever pushed out to a three-goal lead with their silky movement and clever connections catching the Swifts off-guard. The introduction of Sophie Garbin worked wonders for the Swifts as she provided a commanding presence under the post in goal shooter. Her movement and ability to hold strong against Bruce started to come to the fore with Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud able to release the ball with great confidence and ease.

The Swifts showcased just how quickly they can score with the momentum well and truly behind them. Humming in attack the Swifts upped the ante in defence too, to stop the ball from entering the circle with any type of fluidity. The combination between Sarah Klau and Maddy Turner was working in overdrive with Sasha Glasgow unable to find her rhythm as the Swifts went into half time with a handy lead.

It was a much tighter third quarter as the Fever midcourt in Verity Charles and Jess Anstiss started to fire. The duo got busy around circle edge to create some flair in attack but the Swifts continued their merry way to hold a three-goal lead. Tayla Fraser was influential in transition for the Swifts with her pace and ball placement opening up the court. With Glasgow struggling to create her usual impact Alice Teague-Neeld was injected into the game with the goal attack dishing off well executed passes to find Fowler under the post. Although the Swifts held the lead it did not feel as if the momentum was solely and wholly in their favour with the Fever contesting everything that came their way.

With the clock ticking down it was the Swifts that showcased their smarts and structure to win ball back time and time again and continue to capitalise. They did not let up with their pressure and full court smarts on full display as they skipped out to a 10-goal lead at the final change.

Teague-Neeld was quickly into the action with an early deflection as Fowler rewarded her for her efforts. Two quick goals kept them in the hunt but the Swifts still managed to find their way to post as they extended the lead back out to 10. Teague-Neeld came through for another deflection with Stacey Francis-Bayman picking up the crumbs, as the Fever upped the ante in defence to make life hard for the Swifts to penetrate their offensive third. The Fever made a huge change with Fowler coming from the court and bringing on Glasgow to have the two long-range goalers piling on super shots, and only three goals separated the two sides as the clock ticked down with Teague-Neeld landing a huge super shot to get back within a goal. But it was too little, too late as the Swifts ran the clock down to claim a nail-biting one-goal win.

It was another dominant performance by Fowler under the post with the goal shooter nailing 47 goals from 48 attempts. Teague-Neeld played a handy supplementary role with eight goal assists and five goals straight (three super shots) while Glasgow also chimed in with seven goals, including three super shots. Charles was electric through the midcourt racking up 23 goal assists. Bruce and Aryang had magnets in their hands picking up a combined six gains, two intercepts and 11 deflections. Wallace was kept quiet for the Swifts finishing with 16 goals to her name at 76 per cent while Housby slotted 15 goals. The real star was Garbin who slotted a team-high 31 goals from 33 attempts. Proud was in the thick of things with her 19 goal assists as Klau imposed herself down back amassing one intercept and three deflections.

NSW SWIFTS 14 | 21 | 20 | 11 (66)
WEST COAST FEVER 19 | 13 | 14 | 19 (65)

Swifts:

GS: Sam Wallace
GA: Helen Housby
WA: Paige Hadley
C: Maddy Proud
WD: Lauren Moore
GD: Maddy Turner
GK: Sarah Klau

Fever:

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Sasha Glasgow
WA: Verity Charles
C: Jess Anstiss
WD: Stacey Francis-Bayman
GD: Sunday Aryang
GK: Courtney Bruce

Photo credit: Mackenzie Sweetnam