The NSW Swifts seem primed to cast aside last season's grand final heartbreak if their dominant 67-53 trans-Tasman netball championship finals series win over Melbourne Vixens in Sydney is any gauge.
The Swifts stumbled on the final weekend of the regular season by drawing against Southern Steel to narrowly miss top spot behind the Queensland Firebirds, by there was little doubt about this result with the Vixens helpless against a pacy and clinical opponent.
The Swifts played with intensity from the start and the result was not in doubt by the midway point thanks to a 20-point second quarter for a 37-25 lead.
The Swifts will now meet last season's nemesis and reigning champions Firebirds in the Australian Conference elimination final.
However, Swifts coach Rob Wright refused to get carried away with a near-record finals win over a side missing two key players, and further hampered by the loss of star import Geva Mentor mid-match.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"I thought our first three quarters were solid and we kept building, but they had players out so I felt that (result) is what it should have been," said Wright.
"It was a good intense battle, the intensity always ramps up in finals and I think we saw that today."
The Swifts continued their free-scoring from the regular season with some clinical form at the net from Susan Pettitt (23 goals from 24 attempts) and Caitlin Thwaites (40 from 44).
Wright, who doesn't believe last season's last-minute grand final loss is a driving factor for his players, says his side still have room for improvement.
"We need to look at our work around the (attacking) circle, which probably quite wasn't where it needs to be heading into the Firebirds.
"And we will continue look at how we can continue to put pressure on defensively.
"We just simply want to play better with each week."
The defeat ends the Vixens campaign with coach Simone McKinnis content with the showing of her relatively inexperienced side.
"We were beaten by the better team," she said.
"We were outplayed and on the back foot at times, but we did some good things and we will focus on those.
"We just weren't consistent enough, but in terms of individuals we had some good performances.
"It was a solid year, but a hard year and we gave ourselves the best chance of getting into the finals, but we just weren't up to it today."
