Firebirds on the up for netball finals

The Queensland Firebirds are still yet to hit their peak despite a staggering 11-game undefeated run, according to Gabi Simpson.

They are the overwhelming favourites to take out the trans-Tasman netball championship, riding high from an Australian conference final win that stretched their unbeaten run to a staggering 11 games.

But in frightening news for the Northern Mystics, the all-conquering Queensland Firebirds are still yet to hit their peak, according to wing defence Gabi Simpson.

The Firebirds host the Mystics in Sunday's semi-final in Brisbane, where a win will seal home ground advantage in their third straight grand final appearance.

Simpson, 22, has warned their Kiwi opponents that the Firebirds are in absolutely no danger of stumbling now, having not lost a game since the season opener back in March.

"Never do we feel like we are the best we can be - we know we can keep improving," she said.

"The culture of the team is that we'll never be complacent.

"Every single game we watch it back and we analyse it and we see areas we have to improve in.

"That's what keeps us grounded."

The Firebirds thrilled a crowd of 5,175 to beat the NSW Swifts 55-44 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday to capture the Australian conference title.

Simpson said the team's incredible support has been a vital part of their success this season - and they can count on more of that this weekend, after tickets for their semi-final sold out in less than five minutes on Wednesday morning.

"I think in that second quarter we were down by about six. The momentum swung slightly for us but to have that crowd behind you, it changes everything," Simpson said.

"Six goals seems like nothing when you've got extra people screaming at you."

Firebirds prodigy Kim Ravallion said the team was confident of seeing off the Mystics, who they defeated 53-47 in Auckland back in April.

"They've obviously got a lot of experienced New Zealand Ferns in their team," Ravallion said.

"We've got our gameplan set, we had a good training session last night to combat their gameplan so we're looking forward to it."


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world