It’s the middle of winter, there will be nothing else on television, its two closely-matched teams playing one of Australia’s most-played sports, there will be seven excellent athletes on court for each team: so Guardian Australia thought it appropriate to list seven reasons why every sports fan should watch the ANZ Championship netball final this Sunday.
1. It’s New South Wales versus Queensland
A 100 year sporting rivalry – arguably Australia’s biggest which has only just recently been extended to netball, as the “Mother Colony” team of NSW Swifts travels north to face the Queensland Firebirds in front of more than 10,000 fans at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
It’s the third straight grand final for Queensland, and having lost the last two they will go into this one meaning business. Queensland has four current national team members, two native NSW players, plus a Jamaican; NSW also has four current Australian Diamonds players, one native Queenslander, plus the English captain.
In the era of semi-professionalism, standards are improving and the game is rapidly evolving. When these two teams met in the conference final two weeks ago it was one of the highest standards games of netball most of us have seen in a long time.
2. A Subtle Contrast in Styles
Part of the NSW v Queensland sporting rivalry has a political aspect with the former known for its liberalism and the Sunshine State tending toward state-centred conservatism.
But when it comes to netball this is a young Queensland side that’s anything but conservative, relying heavily on high balls into it’s unconventional laissez-faire two-talls shooting combination. NSW by contrast relies on a traditional Australian moving-style goaling circle with the load being shared by shooters who can score, and who love putting it up long range.
The Swifts play a fast but methodical game all over the court. The ability of Queensland’s middle to shut down Swifts import, English captain Jade Clarke and Diamonds midcourter Kim Green will be pivotal to the home side’s prospects of success.
3. A Dynamic Game of Chess
In this game, watch out for who NSW Swifts coach Rob Wright runs in his midcourt and any changes he makes during the game, and whether he decides for extra height or extra speed in the goal circle with the shorter Stephanie Wood likely to come on at some stage during the game. For QLD Firebirds coach Rosalee Jencke - a former Diamonds goal keeper - watch to see if Rebecca Bullety comes on at half-time or whether Clare McMeniman runs out the game at goal defence. As an aside, both players are in contention for the final defensive spot in the Diamonds World Cup squad of 12.
4. Gretel Tippett
21-year-old Tippett is a fiery, 192cm former WNBL basketballer who oozes flair, grit and power the second she steps onto court.
Tippett plays goal attack for the Firebirds where she forms an unconventional, aerial combination with 196cm Jamaican import Romelda Aiken. The native Queenslander has added the lay-up to netball, and also a pass into her Jamaican counterpart which is clearly influenced by a Basketball jump shot.
To make matters more interesting, The Firebirds shooting pair will be up against the Diamonds defenders Julie Corletto and Sharni Layton who have three World Cup winner trophies, and two Commonwealth gold medals between them.
The Aiken/Tippett combination can be sublime chaos, and in full-flight it is near impossible to stop – so Corletto and Layton will need to make their most of their experience, and the handling/passing errors which tend to creep into the Firebirds shooting pair every so often.
Tippett has had a tendency to lose her head a bit over her first ever finals series. In the Conference Final against the Swifts she walked straight up to her former Australian under 21 team-mate Paige Hadley, got out her elbow and knocked her straight to the ground.
If she holds it together on Sunday she might be heading to Sydney as part of the Australian World Cup Team, where she would be probably used in the midcourt and become the tallest wing attack international netball has ever seen.
5. Susan Pettitt
Everyone loves a comeback story. At the other end of the court, Swifts goal attack Susan Pettitt is the longest serving Diamond on court, and was part of the 2006 and 2010 Diamonds Commonwealth Games teams. She was part of the 2007 winning World Cup team – she missed selection last year, and did not even make the 18 player squad when it was named in April.
Since then Petttit had rediscovered vintage form. She blitzed McMeniman two weeks ago, and scored 27/29 (93%) against Silver Ferns captain Casey Kopua last week.
Last week, former Australian player and Australian netball legend Catherine Cox told Fairfax media it was time for national selectors to swallow their pride, admit they made a mistake and select Pettitt in the national team for the World Cup.
More than 200 people have also signed an online petition to get her back in the national side.
Pettitt added to her girl-next-door likeability by not showing a hint of bitterness about being dropped. It would be a truly remarkable story if she made her way back to the squad, and there will be a lot of us cheering for her on Sunday. Thus far, she has let her game do the talking - if she holds out for the full sixty minutes, and all in all plays the game of her life, she could make a big leap back into the 12.
To top it all off, this week she also posted a photo on her Facebook fan page reminding us that even in Grand Final week – most elite netballers still work their day jobs.
6. Laura Geitz
Don’t be fooled by the smiles or the glamour shots, Geitzy is one super tough, smart, athletic defender who outplayed every single goal shooter this season.
Swifts goal shooter Caitlin Thwaites rarely has a good game against Geitz who can work the ground all game and then take flying spectacular intercepts when the chips are down.
7. And most importantly - Collingwood can’t win
Adam Spencer told Guardian Australia that the best thing about netball is that “Collingwood can never take a Trans-Tasman trophy”.
Need we say more?
NSW Swifts v Queensland Firebirds broadcasts this Sunday live on Fox Sports Two, from 12 noon (AEST).
