Age and guile won out over youthful enthusiasm as NSW Swifts edged Southern Steel 68-62 in their trans-Tasman netball league clash in Invercargill.
Barring goal shoot Jhaniele Fowler-Reid and skipper Wendy Frew, the Steel fielded a young line-up which pushed the more experienced Swifts right until the final quarter.
The Swifts led 17-15 after 15 minutes, 34-31 at halftime and 49-46 at the three-quarter mark before the Steel launched a last-quarter comeback to level the scores 51-51 four minutes into the final spell.
In the end, it was calmness and accuracy of shooters Caitlin Thwaites and Susan Pettit which provided the crucial difference.
Thwaites, 28, provided a superb target under the posts for her midcourters, building an excellent combination with 30-year-old Pettit, whose speed and work on the baseline stretched the Steel's 21-year-old circle defenders Storm Purvis and Phoenix Karaka.
Thwaites's accuracy was excellent - she missed just four shots from 43 on goal, for 91 per cent accuracy while Pettit was equally efficient in sinking 29 from 32.
The Swifts midcourt, superbly marshalled by Kim Green, maintained their pace and pressure right to the final whistle, Paige Hadley impressing in her first outing since knee surgery and English international Jade Clarke providing useful impact from the bench.
For the Steel, Jamaican shooter Fowler-Reid was slightly below her best when it came to accuracy, missing nine of her 55 attempts for a 84 per cent success rate.
Te Paea Selby-Rickit, making the step up to goal attack after the Steel opted not to renew Jodi Brown's contract, made a good fist of her new role in sinking 16 from 19, but will need to up her shooting volumes as the season progresses.
She was given a torrid time by former Northern Mystics and Melbourne Vixens defender Julie Corletto, whose combination with the formidable Sharni Layton proved telling in shutting down the Steel's options into their circle.
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