THE clash between Swan Hill and Balranald on Saturday will give spectators a glimpse into what to expect come the finals.
With the pressure of cementing their finals position no longer hanging over their heads, the reigning premiers have had to work particularly hard in the back half of the season to ensure they would get a chance to defend their title.
It wasn’t until last round’s win over Kerang that they were safely in the top five – a moment that Roos coach Jess Parry said was “pretty relieving”.
“It was obviously our goal at the start of the year to play finals, so to tick that off before the last round of the season is pretty exciting for us,” she told The Guardian.
It has been a different story for the Swans, however, with the league heavyweights maintaining a top-five position throughout the season to secure their finals spot early on.
But Swans coach Madeleine Nalder said the challenge would be trying to keep the same intensity and drive on the court.
“You sort of can’t really be too complacent because, if you look at a side like Tyntynder – who we played last week – we were down to them in certain parts in the first half,” she said.
“So we haven’t been able to be complacent, because if you are, that’s when you open up teams to really take it to you.
“So our focus is that it doesn’t matter who we are playing, we need to go out with the same intentions of being really great from the get-go, maintaining that ball when we’ve got it, being able to put it on the scoreboard, being able to work together and to be consistent despite any opponent we face.”
The Roos are known for their clinical, fast-paced style of netball, and Nalder said her team would have a particular focus on trying to slow the game down to their own pace.
“We just want to be able to basically control the ball, which I know is what everyone is trying to do, but that is our mindset,” she said.
“So when we do get a turnover or we get the ball in our hands, that we are composed with it, and that we’re able to put the score on the scoreboard without throwing balls away under pressure or anything like that.”
Both Nalder and Parry believe a key match-up will be played out in the Swans’ ring between shooter Zoe Morris and the Roos defender Elli Brougham.
Morris is renowned for her holding style of netball, often being fed the pass over the heads of her opponents. But with Brougham matching her in height and being very agile in the ring, the Swans will be looking for more forward passes rather than lobs.
“They always have a good game against each other – Elli matches up really well on those taller goalies, so I think she will push Zoe on Saturday, which will be good,” Parry said.
Last time the sides played each other in round 7, which was the first time they had met since their 2022 grand final showdown, the Swans narrowly got a five-goal win, capitalising on the rare opportunities to get extra goals on the board.
It will likely be a similar story this time, with the final result coming down to which team can make the most of the inevitable momentum swings. Either way, it will be a good test for both teams leading into the finals.
