The GIANTS and West Coast Fever face-off for the first time since last year’s major semi-final with the team in orange looking to cement their spot in the top-four for the first time this season.
Last round’s win over the Thunderbirds catapulted the GIANTS into fourth spot with both sides in very different situations to when they last met.
The GIANTS moved up the ladder with their third win of the season on the weekend while the Fever secured a 62-all draw with the Firebirds, which was their second draw of their season.
The two teams last met at the pointy end of the 2018 finals series with the Fever winning 63-57 to push into the Grand Final where they would ultimately be defeated by two-time Champions, the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
This time around, the GIANTS are in the top-four for the first time this season. The GIANTS hadn’t sat outside the Super Netball top-four after any round in the previous two seasons.
The Fever are also in a drastically different position after letting experienced shooter Nat Medhurst go in the off-season and losing captain Courtney Bruce to injury over the opening rounds of the season.
The Fever have secured one win, two draws, three losses and six bonus points and sit in sixth place on the ladder after six rounds.
Tellingly though, the Fever have won two of the past three meetings between the teams.
The last four matches between the teams have been decided by margins of 3, 2, 3 and 6 with the GIANTS leading the overall head-to-head record with three wins and two losses.
The GIANTS’ shooting end has taken some time to settle this season with the club recording the fifth-best attacking record, averaging 59 goals per game.
The GIANTS have a low shooting accuracy of 85.1 per cent however Jo Harten’s game against the Thunderbirds could show the start of an improvement in that area.
The English Rose and GIANTS vice-captain scored her 1000th Super Netball goal last round and shot 33/37 at an accuracy of 89 per cent, which is her highest score of the 2019 season. Meanwhile, Caitlin Bassett shot 31 goals at 91 per cent.
The Fever have the third-best attacking record, scoring 61.5 goals per match, so the GIANTS’ defence will need to be on the top of their game to stop dominant shooter Jhaniele Fowler who has shot 307 goals from 322 attempts this season at 95 per cent.
The Fever have the worst defensive record conceding 67.8 goals per match however they have missed Australian keeper Bruce for much of the opening six rounds.
The GIANTS won all four quarters against the Thunderbirds in round six, which is the fifth time they have claimed all eight points in a Super Netball match; twice this season and three times last season.
With bonus points at a premium come finals time, the GIANTS will be looking to right the recent record against the Fever on their home turf and head home across the Nullarbor with a win.
The GIANTS take on the Fever at 6pm WST/8pm EST on Saturday night, you can watch the game live on Telstra TV or on the Netball Live App.
