The NSW Swifts have spoiled the celebrations for Romelda Aiken-George’s record-breaking match, claiming an impressive six-goal upset victory against the West Coast Fever at RAC Arena on Sunday.
Remarkable Turnaround
It was a remarkable turnaround from the 20-goal defeat in round four, with the Swifts producing their finest performance of the season to claim a 63-57 victory. The win was built on a dominant display from goal attack Grace Whyte, who recorded 25 goal assists and combined superbly with star shooter Grace Nweke.
Aiken-George created history when she stepped onto the court for her 255th appearance in Australian domestic netball, with former record-holder Cath Cox on the sidelines in commentary. Fittingly, the Jamaican shooter scored the opening goal of the game within 13 seconds of the first pass, but it would be the last time the 9576-strong crowd had anything to smile about.
Swifts Dominate Throughout
The Swifts dominated the clash from nearly start to finish, with Whyte putting in one of the finest games of her career. Nweke was also in excellent form, scoring 53 goals from 55 attempts to pull apart a normally frugal Fever defence. At the other end of the court, Aiken-George had a great game with 49 goals from 51 attempts, but her delivery at times left a lot to be desired and cost her the chance to have a greater impact on the contest.
Fever goal attack Sasha Glasgow – celebrating her 100th Super Netball appearance – continued to struggle. Glasgow lacked the confidence to shoot when given the chance, especially from long range, and coughed up four general player turnovers and only six goals.
Coaching Changes Fail to Ignite Fever
Fever coach Dan Ryan tried to change the momentum of the game by shaking up his goal circle, first benching Glasgow to bring on Olivia Wilkinson into goal attack in the third term. He then made the swap in the super shot period with Aiken-George given a rest as he looked to close the gap on the scoreboard, but the shooters didn’t respond.
Wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld was also uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball in hand, with seven general play turnovers, while in defence Fran Williams simply couldn’t stop Whyte from dominating the front court.
Down by nine goals at the final break, Fever finally found their groove, but the only path to victory was going to be through super goals. The Swifts knew this, double-teaming Glasgow every time the home side had possession to force Fever to be satisfied with the one-goal shot.
Injury Concern for Swifts
The only sour note for the visitors was an ankle injury to Nweke in the final term, which will have her in doubt for next weekend’s clash against Melbourne Vixens.
