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30th May 2021 5:48 PM | Updated: 6:04 PM
The constant defensive pressure of reinvented goalkeeper Sarah Klau has helped the NSW Swifts turn around their fortunes mid-match and bounce back to the Super Netball winners’ circle with a 62-53 win over a dogged Collingwood Magpies.
Klau’s statline included nine gains, six intercepts and seven deflections as she proved a constant pest for Magpies shooter Shimona Nelson, who looked early as though she might dominate the match.
The Jamaican goaler had been key to Collingwood’s back-to-back wins in the fortnight before their clash against the Swifts and she was on fire early, with 38 of her 41 goals coming in the first three quarters.
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After winning the 2019 championship, the NSW Swifts were only half a game away from the top two and earning a double chance. The Swifts lost in the minor semi-final to the West Coast Fever to finish fourth.
The word that comes to mind when you think of the NSW Swifts’ roster is stability.
The shooting circle will again see Trinidad and Tobago shooter Sam Wallace combine her size and athleticism with the speed and creativity of English Rose Helen Housby, with Sophie Garbin to again provide the third prong to their attack circle.
“Going out and coming back [into the Ferns] I’m more aware it s not forever,” Winders said ahead of Saturday s pivotal game three at Christchurch Arena (4.15pm start). “I think I’m less focussed on the end result kind of mindset and more focussed on the journey and what goes in between and knowing netball isn’t everything and I’ve actually got a pretty choice life out of it.” The 39-test midcourter, who debuted in 2017, admitted earlier in her career she placed too much pressure on herself around team selection and performance, which wasn’t always healthy.
Kai Schwoerer