Fever Facing Swift Revenge
For the second time in a week the NSW Swifts and West Coast Fever will face each other – but the stakes are higher this time around.
The winner will keep their season alive and earn the right for a shot at conference champions – the Queensland Firebirds – whilst for the loser, it’s curtains for season 2015.
It’s an historic occasion with the two sides meeting in the first ever Australian Conference Elimination Final.
It’s also a watershed night for Fever, making their first ever finals appearance on the back of the most successful season in its eight-year history under debutante coach Stacey Rosman.
But the form of the two teams heading into the cut-throat decider is contrasting.
The Swifts haven’t lost since Round 7 and go into the match having won six of their past seven matches – with the other result being a draw.
In the past fortnight they’ve travelled to Melbourne and Perth and grabbed wins.
After a barnstorming start to the season, Fever has stumbled a little in the race to the finals, with three losses in their past four matches. A costly loss to the Swifts in Perth last Saturday resulted in Fever relinquishing hosting rights of the Australian Conference Elimination Final.
However, the Fever players can call on their experiences during the season where they scored wins on the road in Brisbane and Adelaide and probably had the better of the Swifts in their 59-all draw back in Round 4 at the same venue as tonight’s decider.
The Queensland Firebirds await the winner in Brisbane on Sunday afternoon where the title of inaugural Australian Conference champions will be decided
TEAM NEWS
SWIFTS: Captain Kimberlee Green sat on the sidelines in Perth last Saturday after pulling up sore from the team’s final training session.
While optimistic she will be right to take to the court this Friday night, the Swifts’ fitness staff will no doubt keep a close eye on her in the lead-up to the game.
The Swifts head into their second consecutive finals campaign as one of the form teams of the competition. They’ve averaged 61 goals over their last seven games and when the combination of Caitlin Thwaites and Susan Pettitt is on song, they are hard to contain.
Sharni Layton is seriously challenging Laura Geitz, Geva Mentor and Casey Kopua for the title as the competition’s No.1 defender.
Last year’s shock finals exit still burns in the memory of Swifts coach Rob Wright and those players involved in the game. They will be eager to avoid a similar fate.
FEVER: While disappointed to relinquish hosting rights of the Australian Conference Elimination Final, there’s been no time to dwell for the Fever players. They still have just as much chance as five other teams of winning the title.
Several of their players have enjoyed career best seasons – most noticeably shooter Caitlin Bassett (WAIS), who topped the competition’s goalscoring with 563 goals at an average of 43 per game.
Fever will be looking for another big game from Bassett and her goal circle ally Natalie Medhurst (WAIS) to give themselves a chance of advancing.
They may seem light on finals experience but Medhurst, Ashleigh Brazill (WAIS), Khao Watts, April Letton and Erena Mikaere have all been involved in finals campaigns elsewhere throughout their careers which Rosman can draw on.
Brazill is scheduled to make her 50th ANZ Championship appearance on Friday night while it will be the 100th national league appearance for versatile midcourter Shae Brown (WAIS.
FAST FACTS
- Swifts goal shooter Caitlin Thwaites needs six more goals to reach 400 in a season for the fifth time in her career. Thwaites achieved the feat twice at the Melbourne Vixens in 2008 (422) and 2009 (476) and twice at the Mojo Pulse is 2011 (431) and 2012 (403).
- The Swifts just shaded Fever as the highest-scoring team in the Australian Conference this season. The Swifts scored 746 goals at an average of 57.4 goals a match with Fever shooting 744 goals at an average of 57.2 goals per game.
- Fever defenders Erena Mikaere and April Letton are ranked No.2 and No.3 respectively in the competition for blocks. Mikaere has four, one behind Steel’s Phoenix Karaka, and Letton has three.
- Swifts first-year player Stephanie Wood had a team-high 12 goal assists in their win over Fever last Saturday, a career-high.
- The Swifts have not won a final since the 2008 Grand Final, when they defeated the Magic for the inaugural title.
Date: Friday, 5 June
Time: 5.18pm (Perth time)
Venue: Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
Broadcast: Fox Sports 2, ONE (delayed)
Match Centre: anz-championship.com
Hash tags: #ANZCFinals #SWIvFEV
-ANZchampionship