22-06-2025
Super Netball, round 11: Swifts beat Giants in NSW derby, all but end rival's finals hopes
The Giants' chances of making an unlikely finals run have all but ended but not without giving ladder leaders the NSW Swifts a massive fright in a thrilling NSW derby.
While there was a considerable Kiwi flavour to the match, with the past and future of the Silver Ferns going head-to-head, it was a pair of locals that took the match out of Giants hands, with veteran Swifts captain Paige Hadley and rising defensive star Teigan O'Shannassy sealing the win for the locals.
The Giants led by 11 at the opening break after holding the Swifts to their lowest first-quarter score of the season but in a match that could define their season, the women in red fought back to win 75-66, only hitting the front for the first time in the final term.
After eight consecutive wins there were plenty believing the Swifts could not be challenged for the title this season but back-to-back losses in the fortnight heading into the derby made the clash a crucial one for both teams.
The Giants sprinted from the blocks, scoring the opening four goals of the game and restricted the Swifts to their lowest opening-period of the season, conceding just 10 goals to take an 11-point lead to the opening break.
The league leaders started to claw their way back in the second quarter but still trailed by eight at halftime.
But an 8-1 run to start the third quarter got them back in the game and after a 24-16 period, they went to the final break with scores level, hitting the front for the first time in the match when they opened the scoring in the final term.
They went on with it, unstoppable in the final term as they gained momentum and confidence.
'I feel like that was a full team effort, obviously not the way we wanted to start that game but to be able to grind it out in those last three (quarters), I couldn't be prouder,' said Hadley, who finished with 18 goal assists, 28 feeds and two deflections in a points win over fellow Diamonds midcourter Jamie-Lee Price.
'To have 10,000 people here in red supporting us, we knew this one was a must-win for us, for our season, so a huge effort.'
KIWIS' PAST AND FUTURE
The trans-Tasman league may have ended almost a decade ago, but it was a contest between two Silver Ferns greats that was a major talking point in this game as former captain and Giants recruit Casey Kopua, who celebrated her 40th birthday during the week, and 23-year-old shooter Grace Nweke went head to head.
Kopua finished with four gains - three of those coming in an enormous first quarter effort - but again, it was the direction and confidence she gave to fellow defender Erin O'Brien that was most telling.
Nweke finished with 52 goals, 34 of those coming in the second half as the Swifts found their range and got the ball into the circle more directly and rapidly.
HAS GIANTS' RUN STOPPED?
The Giants were on the bottom of the ladder when Kopua joined them following the season-ending knee injury to Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward.
They notched back-to-back wins for the first time in two years ahead of the derby and a win would have given them an outside mathematical chance of a fairytale finals berth.
That can't happen now but they will challenge teams in the final three rounds and could have a huge say in the make-up of the final four given they still face the Fever in round 13.
TOSSY ON SONG
The Swifts have plenty of match-winners and a core of vastly experienced players but Teigan O'Shannassy is making a case to be included in their starting seven as they ramp up their title challenge.
The 188cm defender was brought into the match late in the first term but it was not until challenged by coach Briony Akle that she took off.
'I wasn't going for ball, I was letting them take over and Briony said 'pull your finger out', so I did,' O'Shannassy said.
She finished with six gains, six deflections and four rebounds in a game-changing effort that would have been watched closely by Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich.
