NS SCOREBOARD: SSN 2023 Grand final

The Adelaide Thunderbirds have won their first Suncorp Super Netball title with a thrilling one-goal win in extra time over NSW Swifts in the grand final at John Cain Arena in Melbourne.

The win completed a remarkable turnaround in Thunderbirds’ fortunes. Not only was it their first National League title in 10 years, it was also their first finals appearance in that time.

Lacking competitiveness in the first few years of the SSN competition, some clever off-season recruiting decisions helped the team go from seventh to first this year. Most notably, the inclusion of former England coach Tracey Neville and current Roses shooter Eleanor Cardwell seemed to give the team a competitive edge that had been lacking in previous years.

A jubilant Thunderbirds coaching bench. Image Aliesha Vicars.

For Swifts, it was a case of so near, yet so far. For the third time in a row, they fell just short against the Thunderbirds, the only side they failed to beat all season. In fact, they didn’t lose a game to any other opponent after round four. There is no reason to doubt that Swifts will be back among the title challengers again next year.

It was a full house in Melbourne for the grand final, with locals and fans flying in from far and wide to enjoy the spectacle. While the grand final sale remains controversial, the lengthy lead in time did allow for an entertainment “product” never before seen in domestic netball. Over 750 fans attended the grand final lunch, while the match day entertainment was next level. Check out Netball Scoop’s Instagram for some of the day’s highlights, as Georgia Doyle reported live from the venue.

The Swifts bench on their feet in the dying moments of the game. Image Aliesha Vicars.

Kudos should also go to Fox Netball, for the best pre, during and post match production that we’ve seen yet. For many fans, capturing the post match emotions and interviews is also a highlight, and something that is all too often missing in women’s sport.

News has also dropped that the 2024 Grand Final has been sold to South Australia, a further spur for the Thunderbirds to defend their maiden SSN title. In good news, it’s also been announced that the Thunderbirds will play more games from the Entertainment Centre, with their more usual Netball SA stadium to undergo refurbishment.

Post match pile on. Image Aliesha Vicars.

While there’s still no news on the 8th license, Netball Australia are adamant that player contracting can’t open until it’s in place and Team Participation Agreements completed. If that isn’t done by July 14th – just five days away – then negotiations will be postponed until after the World Cup.

If the deadline is met, player contracting will open on July 17th. Currently, clubs can officially only talk to their own players, the Magpies, overseas players, and those not currently signed.

While the current 80 players remain employed until the end of September, prolonging negotiations is having a profound impact on their well being. Alongside the uncertainty of not knowing their future, contracting periods in the NSL and ANZ may have closed before Australia’s opens, potentially limiting overseas recruiting.

While the SSN’s marquee players could assume they have a stable playing future in Australia, it leaves many in limbo. For young players and those who may be unwanted by their own club, they face an uncertain future, and a big question of whether to jump at any overseas offers on the table, or hold out and hope for the best.

It is also unfortunate that negotiations are clashing with a World Cup year – it’s understood that clubs and Netball Australia had wanted a two to three year deal in place which would have pushed a new CPA out until 2024 or 2025, but the ANPA stood firm on a one year player deal.

Let’s hope matters can be resolved soon.

Coaches Briony Akle and Nat Avellino watch on with their players. Image Aliesha Vicars.

Stats Leaders

Most goals – 36/39 Eleanor Cardwell (Thunderbirds)
Most supershots – 8/10 Helen Housby (Swifts)
Most goal assists – 24 Georgie Horjus (Thunderbirds)
Most feeds – 35 Paige Hadley (Swifts)
Most gains – 7 Shamera Sterling (Thunderbirds)
Most intercepts – 3 Shamera Sterling (Thunderbirds)
Most deflections – 8 Sarah Klau (Swifts)
Most turnovers – 7 Maddy Proud (Swifts)
Most penalties – 18 Maddy Turner (Swifts)

Team statistics
Penalties: Thunderbirds 51 v Swifts 77
Turnovers: Thunderbirds 16 v Swifts 17
Gains: Thunderbirds 16 v Swifts 10
Centre pass conversion rate: Thunderbirds 72% v Swifts 65%
Gain conversion rate: Thunderbirds 63% v Swifts 70%
Turnover conversion rate: Thunderbirds 86% v Swifts 80%

Helen Housby revving up her team. Image Aliesha Vicars.

MATCH REPORT

GRAND FINAL:

THUNDERBIRDS 60 def SWIFTS 59 in extra time

By Ariane Virgona

“We bloody did it, what the hell?” – Hannah Petty

Starting Lineups

Thunderbirds
GS Eleanor Cardwell
GA Tippah Dwan
WA Georgie Horjus
C Hannah Petty
WD Latanya Wilson
GD Matilda Garrett
GK Shamera Sterling

Bench: Lucy Austin, Maisie Nankivell, Tayla Williams

Swifts
GS Romelda Aiken-George
GA Helen Housby
WA Paige Hadley
C Maddy Proud
WD Tayla Fraser
GD Maddy turner
GK Sarah Klau

Bench: Sophie Fawns, Lili Gorman-Brown, Tiegan O’Shannassy

Shamera Sterling pulls in the match winning intercept during extra time. Image Aliesha Vicars.

‘Right here, right now.’

It was hard not to be with that thrilling game that had any netball fan captivated. Extra time, one goal win, intercepts, cautions, and supershots; the Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final delivered in every aspect we expected.

A sold-out crowd of 9622 at John Cain arena saw the neutral venue a sea of pink and red, and activities spilling outside into the night-time where fans enjoyed pre-game entertainment and sighting of Adelaide Thunderbirds training partners and other SSN players. The build to this pinnacle event was the culmination of the excitement across what was the closest season on record, with the smallest of margins deciding the fate of the eight. As difficult as it was to predict who would take the game, the Thunderbirds had won two of the last two outings against the Swifts (excluding the draw in Round 2), all in nail-biting finishes.

Going into extra time, as in the semi-final, the Thunderbirds showcased their positional flexibility and defensive execution to stifle the NSW Swifts’ attacking end to break a 10-year drought, taking a win in a style that was emblematic of the season that was. Fittingly, Thunderbirds coach Tanya Obst described ‘belief’ within the team as the reason for their grand final appearance and Swifts coach Briony Akle summarised the season as a ‘grind’. This is exactly what we saw play out; the Swifts clawing their way back into the game and the ‘belief’ of the young Thunderbirds playing group carrying the weight of the legacy across the finish line in the dying moments.

Thunderbirds shooting circle, including Lucy Austin, Tippah Dwan, Georgie Horjus and MVP Eleanor Cardwell. Image Aliesha Vicars.

One thing we learned this season is that it’s not over until the final buzzer… or the second, final buzzer for that matter. The only team to break the Swifts’ winning streak of nine games, the Thunderbirds came out strongly with plenty of second phase depth which allowed fluent transition into the circle. The moving circle exploited the defensive structure of the Swifts and Georgie Horjus was able to craft play without much disruption despite oppositional changes from Taylor Fraser to Maddy Turner.

The Thunderbirds worked the width of the court, keeping the heads of the defenders turning and worked the angles to utilise the speed of the attacking duo of Tippah Dwan and Eleanor Cardwell to find space in the circle. Captain Hannah Petty was a safe passage for the ball, controlled and smart, hitting the circle edge to share the feeding load with Horjus.

The Thunderbirds pushed the Swifts attack high up the court blocking the middle channel with a zone causing the ball to spill over the sideline. Defensive pressure in the attacking third aimed to force the ball into the circle or the pocket, allowing the defenders to have a fly- the bread and butter of the Thunderbirds defensive outfit.

Maddy Turner was instrumental in helping to reduce the deficit early in the game with an intercept and deflection to bring the ball down for two supershots and a goal early in the first quarter. As expected, it was a battle of the defensive ends, with Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson working a split circle defensive structure and coming up with important gained ball to help keep the momentum in the favour of the Thunderbirds.

The defensive unit placed hesitation in the minds of the Swifts feeders, with the feed stifled to target-shooter Romelda Aiken-George and Sophie Fawns during supershot time. Late in the second quarter, an intercept by Helen Housby helped keep the Swifts confidence up and the scoreboard ticking over. But, taking the speed and calmness out of the Swifts early and with their fluency in attack and shooter-to-shooter connection, the Thunderbirds won the first half by 8.

Defenders club. Coach Cathy Fellowes with Shamera Sterling, Matilda Garrett and Latty Wilson. Image Aliesha Vicars.

It was a game of two halves, and the Swifts turned up the heat in the second. The third quarter became scrappier and more contested, with the Swifts causing the Thunderbirds to have more general play turnovers (6 to 2), possession changes (8 to 5), and less time in possession, and without using the supershot, were able to take advantage and win it by a sizable 5 goals. The Swifts utilised gained ball through rebounds, tips, or general play turnovers to build momentum for their team, with Helen Housby and Paige Hadley running the show down the attacking end by creating movement and space and looking down court.

Ball fluency improved and when they utilised their triangles and speed, the Swifts were able to convert. Yet, the accuracy under the post was lacking and despite the height in the circle, the rebounds tended to fall into the Thunderbirds’ hands. The speed of the Thunderbirds’ play decreased significantly, halting the efficiency of delivery into the circle, although Lucy Austin showed she can continue to be a calm presence when needed.

Coming back from a 9-goal deficit, the Swifts highlighted, yet again, their ability to grind their way through games in the chase to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Capitalising on their gains to a greater degree than the Thunderbirds in the last quarter (67% to 50% Thunderbirds), the Swifts took the smallest of margins and transformed it into real momentum. The vision into the circle opened and the Swifts midcourt were finding the connection to post with greater ease and confidence.

Georgie Horjus had a sensational match. Image Aliesha Vicars.

The Thunderbirds were hesitating on the feed and the Swifts defenders were able to increase pressure over the shot, drawing Dwan from the court. A battle of possession, the last five minutes saw it swing, with gained ball from both sides levelling the score. Shamera Sterling stood up in the dying minutes to take an intercept, a long ball forced into the attacking third with eight seconds to spare to take it into extra time.

The Swifts Supershot accuracy in 2023 has been slightly higher (62.3%) than the Thunderbirds (56.6%). However, supershots were even at two apiece in the ‘fifth quarter’ but the highlight was the defensive pressure on transition of the Thunderbirds that caused a held ball and an intercept by Sterling in the last 90 seconds, with a Thunderbirds centre pass to follow. Austin slotted one goal to take the lead to three, before Housby brought the score line back to one on the siren. Sophie Fawns, a danger in recent weeks, was kept to one goal and no supershots.

Although the Thunderbirds statistically have given away more turnovers this season, they have won more ball back than any other team in the competition, first for intercepts (109), deflections (293) and gains (229) and second for defensive rebounds (47). However, the grand final saw the Thunderbirds treasure possession with safe passage down the court to conversion winning most of the major metrics, with 16 gains (compared to 10 for the Swifts), 17 pickups (to 15), 10 goals from gains (to 7), less turnovers from missed goals (3 compared to 6), slightly lower general play turnovers (16 to 17) and possession changes (19 to 23).

With a substantially lower penalty count (51 to 77) and contacts (45 to 67), the Thunderbirds were also more often able to stay in play to build pressure across the court. The depth of the bench was a key reason these two teams had been so successful in 2023, and the grand final saw 32 positional changes to the Thunderbirds 53, showing full trust in the squad of 10 but also making it difficult for opponents to adjust to the myriad of combinations put out on court.

Shooting statistics

Thunderbirds
Eleanor Cardwell 36/39 (92%)
Tippah Dwan 12/13 (92%)
Lucy Austin 7/9 (78%)
Total 55/61 (90%)

Super shots: Cardwell 5/6

Swifts
Romelda Aiken-George 27/32 (84%)
Helen Housby 20/23 (87%)
Sophie Fawns 3/6 (50%)
Total 50/61 (82%)

Super shots: Housby 8/10, Fawns 1/4

MVP – Eleanor Cardwell

Latty Wilson and Shamera Sterling. Image Aliesha Vicars.

Quotes Corner

Check out our Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for press conference footage from both sides.

2023 Finishing Positions

1 Adelaide Thunderbirds
2 NSW Swifts
3 West Coast Fever
4 Melbourne Vixens
5 Sunshine Coast Lightning
6 GIANTS Netball
7 Queensland Firebirds
8 Collingwood Magpies