The NSW Derby started the way we would expect, the teams went hard at it from the first centre pass. The high intensity stayed for the entirety of the game, but it was the NSW Swifts who carried it through to the end.
With the adrenaline pumping early on, there were mistakes from both sides. The GIANTS were doing their best to clog the middle channel and force the Swifts down the sides, but Sam Wallace-Joseph was still able to do some damage and give them an early lead. The Swifts were then handed an advantage with Jamie Lee Price being sent off for dangerous play, the first time this season that we have seen this. The GIANTS were down a player for two minutes and while the Swifts stayed ahead, they didn’t make the GIANTS pay like they could have. As the Power 5 sounded the GIANTS were able to get back in the game and finished the quarter down by only three goals.
Coming out firing in the second term, the GIANTS were determined not to let the lead leak out. A contact call against Wallace-Joseph allowed them to get it back to even before then taking the lead. As encouraging as it was, this lead was short-lived.
Despite doing the work to earn the ball, several turnovers caused the GIANTS to lose any advantage they had. Sophie Dwyer and Chelsea Pitman had four and five respectively by half time and the Swift’s defensive pressure wasn’t slowing down. Matilda McDonnell was doing her best to stem the damage down the other end but struggled to find clean ball. The GIANTS welcomed the half time break, despite the margin only being eight goals, their silly errors had allowed the Swifts to gain momentum.
The third quarter was where the game truly started to get away from the GIANTS, the frustration visible on the court. Offensively they struggled, and the Swifts' pressure combined with a lack of energy from the GIANTS meant there were minimal options up the line. This resulted in either rushed passes or held balls being called – a common call throughout the game. Price appeared to be the only one who could deliver the ball, threading the needle to Harten on multiple occassions.
The GIANTS’ defensive efforts were strong, but they just couldn’t capitalise at the other end, Jo Harten handed a warning on one play. Meanwhile, the Swifts made the most of the super shot period and were able to stretch the lead out to 13 goals ahead of the final term.
It was going to be a challenging fourth term for the GIANTS and if they were going to make a comeback, the first ten minutes would be crucial ahead of the Power 5. The GIANTS had opted to keep Matisse Letherbarrow out with Dwyer, but it made little difference as they were only able to put up 11 goals between them for the quarter.
In the end, it was the GIANTS’ attack that proved detrimental, they couldn’t find a way to look after the ball, throwing it away time and time again. Any time they got a win and a step forward, it was like they took two steps back. While the GIANTS missed targets and lost confidence, the Swifts stayed disciplined in their approach down the court and stuck to their offensive structure. They flew home with a 24-goal win in what was their highest-scoring quarter of the game.
