Adelaide Thunderbirds (2) v First Windows Waikato / Bay of Plenty Magic (3)
Sunday 11 July, 2:30pm
Adelaide Entertainment Centre

This season sees two teams that are yet to lift an ANZ Championship trophy aloft fighting it out for netball’s ultimate club prize. The Adelaide Thunderbirds will play host to the First Windows Waikato / Bay of Plenty Magic in front of 9,000 parochial South Australian supporters.

The 2010 Grand Final will be the third season in a row where Australia and New Zealand’s two most consistent teams will challenge each other in a finals match, but Sunday will be first time the match-up occurs in the ultimate decider. The Thunderbirds and WBOP Magic are the only teams to feature in all three Finals Series, with this season being the second Grand Final appearance for either side. Both teams have attacking and defensive strengths across the entire court so as any Grand Final deserves, this game will no doubt be the highlight of the season.

Head to Head
5 matches – Thunderbirds 2, WBOP Magic 3
Round 14, 2010   –     WBOP Magic 53 def Thunderbirds 44 (Energy Events Centre)
Preliminary Final, 2009   –    WBOP Magic 37 def by Thunderbirds 51 (Mystery Creek Events Centre)
Round 14, 2009   –     Thunderbirds 54 def WBOP Magic 35 (Distinctive Homes Dome)
Preliminary Final, 2008   –    WBOP Magic 51 def Thunderbirds 49 (Mystery Creek Events Centre)
Round 01, 2008   –     WBOP Magic 46 def Thunderbirds 42 (Energy Events Centre)
 

The overall win/loss ratios of both teams are eerily similar, with the Thunderbirds registering 32 wins/13 losses, and the WBOP Magic recording 33 wins/13 losses.  Over the past two seasons, both have a win/loss ratio of 22/8.

2010 Summary

2010 Statistics

 

Shooting
• The Thunderbirds’ Carla Borrego scores an average of 38.1 goals per match whereas Irene van Dyk from the WBOP Magic scores 34.9 goals per match. However Borrego misses an average 6 goals per match compared to an unbelievable 2.6 per match for van Dyk.
• The NSW Swifts had more attempts at goal than the WBOP Magic in the Preliminary Final (59 compared to 57) but van Dyk incredibly only missed one shot and was successful 43 times (shooting percentage of 97%).
• During the home and away season, the Thunderbirds have scored 313 goals at home (52.2 per game) and the WBOP Magic have scored 297 goals away from home (49.5 per game).
• Despite often being overshadowed by her shooting partner, WBOP Magic goal attack Jodi Brown has a shooting percentage of 79.9% (234/293) this season, clearly ranking her higher than the Thunderbirds goal attacks in Erin Bell and Kate Beveridge. Combined they are shooting at only 70.6% (192/279)
• The top two scorers for the Thunderbirds (Borrego and Beveridge) scored 686 from 843 attempts with a shooting percentage of only 81.4%. The WBOP Magic’s top two scorers (van Dyk and Brown) scored 758 from 853 attempts with a shooting percentage of 88.9%.

Scoring Zone
• The Thunderbirds have scored 80% of goals (584) from underneath or close to the ring, and have successfully converted 149 long bombs for a 20% success rate.
• Carla Borrego has scored 482 goals in the short zone and 52 goals from the long range.
• Kate Beveridge has taken the most long range shots with 129 compared to Borrego’s 74 attempts.

• The WBOP Magic is shooting only 11% of goals from the long bomb area (89) and has scored 697 goals (89%) from underneath the ring at an accuracy of 92%.
• Irene van Dyk has scored 515 goals in the short zone and only 9 goals from the long range.
• Jodi Brown eclipses her team mate van Dyk in long bomb shooting, scoring 71 goals from 105 attempts at an accuracy of 67%, compared to only 9 goals from 17 attempts for van Dyk.

Centre Pass Receive
• The Thunderbirds have three players who have received more than 100 centre passes in Erin Bell (208), Kate Beveridge (123) and Mo’onia Gerrard (115). After the home and away season Bell was ranked tenth in the entire competition.
• Frances Solia from the WBOP Magic has received 44% of her team’s centre passes, recording a massive 304 for the season including her two finals matches. Not surprisingly she was ranked first for the home and away season. Her closest team mate is Jodi Brown with 180.
Intercept
• The Thunderbirds have taken 95 intercepts for the season with four players within 16 intercepts of each other -  Geva Mentor (29), Sharni Layton (24), Mo’onia Gerrard (19) and Natalie von Bertouch (13).
• The WBOP Magic have taken 108 intercepts for the season but has a clear standout in Casey Williams with 44 who ranked second during the home and away season. Her closest team mate is Jodi Tod who is 25 behind on 19.

Deflections
• The Thunderbirds have deflected the ball 282 times, 95 more than the WBOP Magic. Not surprisingly they are ranked first in the competition with WBOP Magic lagging behind in seventh.
• Before the Finals Series, the Thunderbirds had two players ranked in the top ten of the competition for deflections whereas the WBOP Magic did not have a single representative. Geva Mentor currently has 85 deflections, 18 ahead of Mo’onia Gerrard on 67. The WBOP Magic’s best deflector is Casey Williams with 48.

Pickup
• Not surprisingly considering the number of deflections they do, the Thunderbirds are the only team in the competition to have over 200 loose ball pickups. Their enthusiasm and commitment has seen them pick the loose ball up on 216 times during the home and away season and 235 times including their Semi-Final win over the Swifts.
• Natalie von Bertouch from the Thunderbirds leads the competition with 49 pickups (46 during home and away season) at an average of 3.5 per game. Mo’onia Gerrard is ranked second with 44 (43 during home and away season) at an average of 3.1 per game. Geva Mentor is ranked fifth with 35 (34 during home and away season) at an average of 2.5 per game.
• Casey Williams is the only player from the WBOP Magic in the top ten, ranked sixth with 34 (27 during home and away season) at an average of 2.3 per game.

Turnover
• The Thunderbirds (250 – game average 17.9) have turned the ball over slightly more than the WBOP Magic (236 – game average 15.7) but this may be expected as they do have the ball in hand more than the WBOP Magic with an average 5 more attempts at goal per match. 
• Going into the Grand Final, the shooters from both sides (Borrego – Thunderbirds and van Dyk – WBOP Magic) have had 20 turnovers from bad hands/catches. Borrego, however, has played one less game. Considering the amount of time the ball is thrown in the direction of these two players, it is remarkable that their game averages are as low as 1.4 and 1.3 respectively.

Penalties
• The Thunderbirds have conceded 168 less penalties this season than at the same time last year. Going into the finals they have conceded the third least of any team in the competition, recording 684. Geva Mentor and Mo’onia Gerrard are the main culprits for the Thunderbirds with 156 and 155 respectively.
•  121 of Gerrard’s penalties come from contact calls which equates to an average of 8.6 per game.
• The WBOP Magic has conceded 693 penalties this season with Casey Williams the main culprit, conceding 207. This is a massive 130 more than her closest team mate, Kahurangi Waititi on 77.
• No player in the WBOP Magic has conceded more than 100 contact penalties, with Williams the closest on 89. However 118 of Williams overall penalties conceded come from Obstruction calls.

Rebounds
• The Thunderbirds have slightly more rebounds than the WBOP Magic. Going into the finals, the Thunderbirds have had 120 rebounds for the season, ranked third in the competition, but this is well behind the Queensland Firebirds with 151. The WBOP Magic is ranked closely behind in fourth position on 102.
• The Thunderbirds have strength at both ends of the court with both Carla Borrego (GS) and Geva Mentor (GK) securing 39 rebounds each after the home and away season. After the Semi-Final this changed slightly with Borrego taking an additional 3 and Mentor 6.
• The WBOP Magic’s rebounding status comes from the defensive end, recording 80 for the season and ranked second in the competition.  However the WBOP Magic are only ranked ninth at the offensive end, with 30 during the home and away season, but considering Irene van Dyk’s shooting accuracy getting a rebound is generally not required.
 

What a game we should see on Sunday. There is not a great deal separating these two sides. WBOP Magic may have a slight advantage in the goal circle, with arguably the best ever goal shooter in netball in red hot form, but the Thunderbirds are not without superstars as well. It can be argued that the combination of Mentor and Gerrard is the best defensive unit in the competition. Both sides are strong in the midfield boasting internationals with big game experience.
 

Both teams will be fighting hard for their first ANZ Championship title, and the Thunderbirds will have a strong parochial crowd behind them on the day. That may not faze the WBOP Magic however, after they faced a strong away crowd last week with minimal support in the stands and still played with energy, enthusiasm and commitment. So this is it - two evenly matched teams, from either side of the Tasman with their first title within reach. Game ON!