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Queensland Firebirds crowned ANZ Champions in a last minute thriller

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21st June, 2015
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The Queensland Firebirds have pulled off an incredible comeback to overcome the New South Wales Swifts and claim the ANZ Championship.

The Firebirds went into the game undefeated since Round 1 against the West Coast Fever, and deservedly went into the game as favourites.

But despite being in front of a sell-out home crowd at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, it was the Swifts who were in control for most of the game.

The Queenslanders looked rattled early as the Swifts jumped out to a three point lead at quarter time -with Julie Corletto doing a stellar job shutting down Firebird’s GA Gretel Tippett.

The second quarter was a similar story, Kim Green starring for New South Wales in the midcourt and the Firebird’s unable to find their rhythm as the Swift’s went into the main break with a five point advantage – 30-25.

Queensland fought back after the break and levelled the scores at one stage – but NSW were yet again able to pull away, up by four going into the final change.

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The last quarter was chaos, Romelda Aikin dragging the Firebird’s back into the contest before the Swift’s were able to stretch the lead out to four goals with five minutes to go.

The Firebird’s were desperate though, and chipped away at the Swift’s lead until Aikin’s goal had both teams level with 35 seconds to go.

Queue Gretel Tippett.

The finals rookie who had a difficult game put the Firebird’s in front with 14 seconds to go, before Laura Geitz’ intercept sealed the one point victory in an absolute heartstopper.

“I didn’t expect it to be the last minute, but if it has to be, it has to be,” Firebird’s coach Roselee Jencke said.

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“We were on the right side of the scoreboard and in a final that’s all that matters.”

After being runner-up the last two years, the Queensland Firebird’s finally delivered the Championship their fans were after.

NSW captain Kim Green was courageous for the entire game and final MVP Sharni Layton can certainly be proud of her brilliant defensive performance.

Given little to no chance of victory before the game, the Swift’s put in a brave and inspiring performance but it just wasn’t enough in the end.

The final was a sensational showcase for the sport – a gripping match from start to finish in front of a raucous 7000-strong crowd in Brisbane.

The atmosphere was electric, and so was the netball.

Congratulations, the Queensland Firebirds – the 2015 ANZ Champions!

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