Sunshine Girl Latanya Wilson had a sensational performance on the defensive end, winning the Player of the Match award, to help lead defending champions Adelaide Thunderbirds to a dominant 58-33 Round 7 win against the NSW Swifts in the highly anticipated repeat of last season’s Suncorp Super Netball League grand final.

Wilson who was featuring in her 50th national league game, notched up 118.5 Nissan Net Points thanks to four intercepts, seven deflections, eight gains and nine pick-ups.

She was aided on the defensive end by reigning MVP Shamera Sterling-Humphrey who tallied 6 defensive rebounds, 3 intercepts and 9 gains while on the offensive side of the court Romelda Aiken-George scored a game high 30 goals from 32 shots.

Earlier the Swifts, after a strong start, took a 13-12 lead into the second quarter before the Thunderbirds rallied to take a 23-20 lead into the halftime break.

A dominant third quarter saw the Thunderbirds going up by 13 goals, 41-28, before ultimately going on to win by a huge 25-goal margin.

The home team with the one-sided result moved into second spot above the Melbourne Vixens on goal percentage, with both teams on 20 points and with the Vixens to face the undefeated league-leading West Coast Fever, led by the Jamaican trio of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, Shanice Beckford and Kadie-Ann Dehaney, at the RAC in Perth on Sunday.

Meanwhile, action in the First Nations Round continues on Saturday with the clash between debutante Melbourne Mavericks, led by star goal-shooter Shimona Nelson-Jok and the visiting Giants who include defender Jodi-Ann Ward at John Cain Arena.

The league’s dedicated First Nations Round is held across two weeks in 2024, to coincide with National Reconciliation Week in Round 7 and NAIDOC Week in Round 13.