‘It was a wake-up call’: Defeat will keep Swifts on their toes in finals, says Proud
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Maddy Proud reckons the NSW Swifts’ defeat to the Adelaide Thunderbirds last week was just what they needed going into Saturday’s Super Netball major semi-final against … the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
It’s not often you get the chance to avenge a defeat against the same team just a week later, but that’s the situation the Swifts find themselves in when they face the Thunderbirds at Qudos Bank Arena.
Maddy Proud of the Swifts and Hannah Petty of the Thunderbirds collide in last week’s game.Credit: Getty
The teams locked horns last week in the final round of the regular season, where the Thunderbirds snatched a three-point victory over the minor premiers. But the loss might just be the key to the Swifts’ success, said co-captain Proud, who believes it will keep them hungry on Saturday night.
“I think the weekend’s game was a wake-up call for us,” Proud said. “It’s not just going to happen [the win], we have to actually work really hard for it, and especially against a team like the Thunderbirds. They’re a team that’s never going to give up until that final whistle blows.
“I’d like to think that it’s [the loss] made us reflect really critically this week, and we’ve analysed that game probably more than we’ve analysed any other game, and it’s really put that new, fresh lens on the way that we look at coming up against them.”
The Swifts were dominant in the first quarter of the game, putting points on the board early and moving the ball rapidly around the court.
The Swift’s Helen Housby tries to block Shamera Sterling of the Thunderbirds. Credit: Getty
But complacency crept in, said Proud, and their lapse let the Thunderbirds back into the game to square the score by the end of the third quarter.
Swifts coach Briony Akle said the team’s senior players would need to step up defensively to dismantle Adelaide’s attack.
“Adelaide proved last week they are a brilliant team with huge threats all over the court,” Akle said. “Everyone talks about their defence in the goal circle, but I thought their mid-court was sensational against us last Saturday. They shut us down and didn’t allow us [to] get to post quickly, which really disrupted our flow.”
Victory for the Swifts would book a third Super Netball grand final. If they lose, they’ll get another chance against the winner of Sunday’s semi-final between the Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever.
“We know that they [Thunderbirds] were able to show a few different cards during the game which we have now been able to look at and, on the flip side, I don’t think we’ve really been able to show them our very best yet,” Proud said.
“Hopefully, they’re not expecting the way that we come out because we definitely don’t think we’ve been able to put our best foot forward against them yet.”
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