Latest news with #Swifts
Evening Standard
a day ago
- General
- Evening Standard
Best decorative birdhouses to enhance garden charm and support wildlife
Birdhouses are a haven for cavity-seeking avian friends. While some species of birds build intricate nests in tree branches, or rather sad-looking collections of twigs in city alleyways (pigeons, we're talking about you), many species either look for or create holes in trees within which they can meticulously craft nests and lay eggs. A few examples of cavity-seeking birds in the UK include the Blue Tit and Great Tit, Starlings, Kestrels, Swifts and House Sparrows.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Swifts digest horror show as Fever lock in grand final
The NSW Swifts have spoken of their regret over Sunday's 77-45 semi-final mauling at the hands of West Coast, conceding they suffered an 'absolute shellacking' on enemy territory. NSW were simply no match for the minor premiers, trailing 46-20 at halftime en route to the embarrassing 32-goal loss. Sunday's result means the second-placed Swifts will now need to lick their wounds and defeat the Melbourne Vixens in next weekend's home preliminary final to stay in the title hunt. The Vixens secured their preliminary final spot with a 58-56 win over two-time defending champions Adelaide in the minor semi-final. West Coast, who are on a Super Netball record 13-match winning streak, have now qualified for the August 2 grand final in Melbourne. The Swifts made a perfect 8-0 start to the season but have lost five of their past seven games since then. Their loss to the Fever was the worst of the lot, with star goal shooter Grace Nweke simply devoid of confidence as Fever defender Sunday Aryang ran riot with seven gains and two intercepts. Nweke finished with just 23 goals from 28 attempts, and the star NZ shooter committed a whopping nine turnovers in a performance that resulted in her benching. But Swifts defender Maddy Turner is urging her teammates to keep their heads high, pointing out how NSW were thumped 58-48 by Sunshine Coast in the 2019 major semi-final before rebounding to win the title.
The Age
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
Swifts digest horror show as Fever lock in grand final
The NSW Swifts have spoken of their regret over Sunday's 77-45 semi-final mauling at the hands of West Coast, conceding they suffered an 'absolute shellacking' on enemy territory. NSW were simply no match for the minor premiers, trailing 46-20 at halftime en route to the embarrassing 32-goal loss. Sunday's result means the second-placed Swifts will now need to lick their wounds and defeat the Melbourne Vixens in next weekend's home preliminary final to stay in the title hunt. The Vixens secured their preliminary final spot with a 58-56 win over two-time defending champions Adelaide in the minor semi-final. West Coast, who are on a Super Netball record 13-match winning streak, have now qualified for the August 2 grand final in Melbourne. The Swifts made a perfect 8-0 start to the season but have lost five of their past seven games since then. Their loss to the Fever was the worst of the lot, with star goal shooter Grace Nweke simply devoid of confidence as Fever defender Sunday Aryang ran riot with seven gains and two intercepts. Nweke finished with just 23 goals from 28 attempts, and the star NZ shooter committed a whopping nine turnovers in a performance that resulted in her benching. But Swifts defender Maddy Turner is urging her teammates to keep their heads high, pointing out how NSW were thumped 58-48 by Sunshine Coast in the 2019 major semi-final before rebounding to win the title.
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
We copped a shellacking: Swifts digest horror show
The NSW Swifts have spoken of their regret over Sunday's 77-45 semi-final mauling at the hands of West Coast, conceding they suffered an "absolute shellacking" on enemy territory. NSW were simply no match for the minor premiers, trailing 46-20 at halftime en route to the embarrassing 32-goal loss. Sunday's result means the second-placed Swifts will now need to lick their wounds and defeat the Melbourne Vixens in next weekend's home home preliminary final to stay in the title hunt. The Vixens secured their preliminary final spot with a 58-56 win over two-time defending champions Adelaide in the minor semi-final. West Coast, who are on a Super Netball record 13-match winning streak, have now qualified for the August 2 grand final in Melbourne. The Swifts made a perfect 8-0 start to the season but have lost five of their past seven games since then. Their loss to the Fever was the worst of the lot, with star goal shooter Grace Nweke simply devoid of confidence as Fever defender Sunday Aryang ran riot with seven gains and two intercepts. Nweke finished with just 23 goals from 28 attempts, and the star NZ shooter committed a whopping nine turnovers in a performance that resulted in her benching. But Swifts defender Maddy Turner is urging her teammates to keep their heads high, pointing out how NSW were thumped 58-48 by Sunshine Coast in the 2019 major semi-final before rebounding to win the title. "In 2019, we got absolutely flogged in that semi and came back to win the preliminary," Turner said. "So I'm just telling them, 'It's OK. It happens'. You can't beat finals experience. "I know it (the loss to Fever) was an absolute shellacking, but they got out on court in front of an away crowd that was massive, so they will take a lot of learnings from that and hopefully some composure as well going into next week." Turner said her team's inability to keep their voice up when things turned sour against the Fever played a key role in the huge loss. "We went completely quiet when things weren't going our way, and that just wasn't us," Turner said. "It was really disappointing, because that's in our control. I feel like a few people were probably regretting their moments they could have stood up." Swifts coach Briony Akle confirmed co-captain Paige Hadley would return from a foot injury against the Vixens next Sunday in a major boost. And Akle is backing her side to digest the loss to Fever and rebound strongly this week. "We don't just coach for the highs and turn up for the wins. It's knuckling down and believing in my team," Akle said. "It's not like I don't believe in them. Every team is going to have a game like that somewhere in your career. "It's about how you respond, how we get back up, and we fight again."
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Fever destroy Swifts to secure netball grand final spot
West Coast Fever have secured a grand final berth and destroyed the confidence of the NSW Swifts in the process after posting a dominant 77-45 win in the major semi-final at RAC Arena. In a performance for the ages, West Coast led 46-20 at half-time and 60-28 late in the third quarter as the Swifts imploded in front of a bustling Green Army crowd of 11,838 in Perth. Sunday's result means the second-placed Swifts will now need to dust themselves off for next week's home preliminary final against the Melbourne Vixens, who defeated two-time defending champions Adelaide 58-56 in the minor semi-final earlier in the day. The ladder-leading Fever will enjoy a week off before featuring in the August 2 grand final at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. Star Fever goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard finished with 65 goals from 66 attempts to go with one Super Shot, while goalkeeper Sunday Aryang was huge with seven gains and two intercepts. Swifts goal shooter Grace Nweke endured a shocker, hitting just 23 goals from 28 attempts while committing a whopping nine turnovers. The Fever's rise to the grand final is remarkable given they were 0-2 and bottom of the ladder before Fowler-Nembhard's return sparked a run of 13 straight wins - a Super Netball record. "I'm just really proud of the team," Fever coach Dan Ryan told Fox Sports. "Their performance across the 60 minutes was amazing. "To play that quality of netball under the pressure of semi-finals is just amazing." NSW opened the season with a perfect 8-0 record but limped into the finals with four losses from their last six games. With no Paige Hadley (foot) or Teigan O'Shannassy (back), the Swifts were simply no match for the Fever. Fowler-Nembhard was a dominant force in the opening quarter, nailing 20 goals to give the Fever a 20-11 lead at the first break. At the other end, Nweke was struggling. The star NZ shooter committed a whopping five turnovers to go with three penalties in the opening term. In a further blow for the Swifts, centre Verity Simmons rolled her ankle late in the quarter and had to go off for treatment. Nweke's nightmare continued early in the second term when she missed two easy shots in the space of a few minutes. By the time Simmons was able to re-enter play with eight minutes remaining in the half, the Fever already led 31-17. Nweke was benched in favour of Sophie Fawns as the Swifts desperately searched for answers. West Coast scored the last 12 goals of the second quarter to enter the long break with a 26-goal lead, meaning the second half was effectively junk time. The final margin - 32 goals - was the largest in a Super Netball semi-final.
