The NSW Swifts took to the court against the Melbourne Vixens fired up by a question they asked themselves moments after the Sunshine Coast had over-taken them as the Super Netball competition leaders.

“We just said that [the] Lightning were on top and what did that look like for us, and what it meant in terms of effort and goals for this game,” said their coach Briony Akle.

The Swifts didn’t take long to assert their authority.Credit:AAP

“We knew bonus points are now huge … [it was] a huge importance that we needed to win quarters tonight and not just the game.”

The Lightning’s victory over the Giants in the opening game of Saturday night’s double-header at the Quaycentre catapulted them to 68 points, three ahead of the Swifts.

However, it was a short-lived reign, as the Sydney-siders responded brutally – and swiftly – by unleashing a dominant display from the opening quarter until the very end in front of a full house, prevailing 57-51.

Their efforts were rewarded with seven points, allowing them to seize a four-point lead on the premiership table over the Sunshine Coast.

Adding to Akle’s pride in the impressive nature of the victory was it was a new look team to the one that took the competition by the throat before the World Cup break.

Sophie Garbin was pitchforked into Goal Attack, Silver Fern Katrina Rore and England's Natalie Haythornthwaite played their second games for the Swifts as point-scorer Helen Housby (thigh) joined Maddy Proud, Kate Eddy and Lauren Moore in the team’s casualty ward.

Another point that pleased Akle was that her players had heeded her call during the week to ‘go back to basics’ after suggesting the team had lost its way over the last few weeks.

“I think last week we did really silly netball things,” she said. “We just dropped balls for no reason, we threw balls out. I don’t think we did that tonight; I think if we did Vixens were just … it was bloody tough.”

Goal shooter Sam Wallace was outstanding, setting an imposing tempo to the match after landing the first of her 45 goals in just the 19th second. She was a nightmare for the Vixens defence, as she claimed the Most Valuable Player award after finishing with a 92 per cent accuracy rate.

There were plenty of others who shone. Sarah Klau was brilliant in defending the goal; Maddy Turner found ways to be in the thick of the action; Haythornthwaite was kept busy at wing attack and skipper Paige Hadley was a woman on a mission with 22 goal assists and 29 feeds.

“Coming back from the World Cup, I guess the last few games have been a bit slow for me,” said Hadley. “It was great to have a real big training week with the girls and I’m really happy with the overall team effort.”

The victory also allowed the Swifts to return the Sargeant-McInnis Cup – which the two clubs play for every season – to their trophy cabinet after the Vixens had ‘owned’ it since 2017.

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